Come on people, beagles need rescuing!!

 

Hundreds of activists plan to raid, take dogs from embattled breeder

Organizers say over 1,700 people are committed to nonviolence. In a statement, Ridglan Farms called the planned April 19 operation an illegal break-in.

Animal rights activists are preparing to attempt a controversial raid at a beagle breeding facility, breaking in and taking thousands of dogs they say are being abused. The operation won't be in the dead of night, but in the broad daylight, and is being planned out in the open for all to see.

The planned April 19 mission at Ridglan Farms comes after a much smaller action in March that prompted the Wisconsin facility to ramp up its security measures: Wire fencing, hay bales and trenches now line the property, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network.

This time around, organizers have posted full details online, including timing, team structures and a public signup form that has drawn over 1,700 people planning to participate in an operation they say will be strictly nonviolent. Ridglan Farms said the action could cause millions in damage.

"We're inviting the police to help us," Lisa Castagnozzi, a Milwaukee animal advocate leading a support team for the operation, told the Journal Sentinel. "The concept behind open rescue is that we have a legal and moral obligation to go in when no one else has acted to protect these animals."

Ridglan Farms is a facility about 30 miles outside Madison, Wisconsin, in Blue Mounds and licensed by the state as a dog breeding operation. It breeds thousands of beagles and sells them to laboratories for medical and scientific research and has operated for nearly 60 years.

Last year, a Dane County judge appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Ridglan Farms after former employees testified that dogs were being mistreated, including having eye surgeries performed on them without general anesthesia.

In exchange for the state not prosecuting, Ridglan agreed to surrender its state breeding license by July 1, 2026, according to the special prosecutor's report, ending its practice of selling dogs to outside researchers. It can continue breeding dogs for its own internal research.

"On April 19, the 2,000 rescuers will descend on Ridglan Farms from all directions and use every nonviolent means to breach the facility walls and rescue the dogs. If the police illegally attempt to stop us, we will shield one another from their attempts to hurt the dogs, and pressure them to enforce the law and protect the dogs," wrote organizer attorney Wayne Hsiung in a blog post. "Nothing will stop us from getting all 2,000 beagles out of cages...."

More than 100 Wisconsin animal rescues and humane societies have signed a letter supporting the operation and offering to shelter the dogs, Castagnozzi said. A placement team has also been coordinating adoptions for weeks.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/04/15/raid-rescue-ridglan-farms-dogs/89605598007/