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Ridglan Farms, the Wisconsin beagle breeding facility that has supplied dogs to research laboratories for nearly 60 years, will permanently close after Big Dog Ranch Rescue negotiated an agreement for the transfer of the 475 remaining dogs. The first transfer of 325 beagles was set for June 15-16, with the remaining 150 to be released by the beginning of August.Big Dog Ranch Rescue, based in Loxahatchee Groves, Florida, said some of the beagles will go to rescue partners and some will go to BDRR’s Florida and Alabama campuses, where they will be spayed, neutered and prepared for adoption. After the August transfer, there will be no more dogs at Ridglan Farms.In a news conference Monday, Big Dog Ranch Rescue founder and CEO Lauree Simmons says Ridglan Farms agreed to cease operations.”It is in our binding legal contract they are permanently closing, all of the dogs by Mid-August will be released to us. Not one dog left behind. No more breeding, no more testing,” Simmons said.The Center for a Humane Economy, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, said it received confirmation from Ridglan’s attorney that the company is winding down operations. Joseph Goode, a Milwaukee-based attorney representing the center, spoke with Ridglan attorney Eric McLeod at the beginning of June regarding the potential transfer of the company’s remaining dogs. During that conversation, McLeod indicated that Ridglan Farms would be “winding down” its operations following the transfer of the remaining dogs.Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy, said he heard from two Ridglan employees that the work of animal advocates “has driven us out of business.””I didn’t want to wait any longer to share this extraordinary news of Ridglan’s impending closure, since it has been such an eagerly awaited outcome for many millions of Americans,” said Pacelle, whose organization led the discussions with Ridglan to purchase dogs and guide them to a better path. He added that “there’s been an ensemble cast that has produced this outcome, including Big Dog Ranch Rescue (BDRR),” its partner on the series of actions that produced the release of 1,635 dogs in May and June.The agreement completes the rescue and relocation of 2,110 beagles carried out since April 29. The Center for a Humane Economy described Ridglan Farms as the second-largest beagle supplier to laboratories in the country. Big Dog Ranch Rescue said it will continue fighting to end the use of dogs in research and testing and hopes that the Department of Health and Human Services will discontinue funding studies that subject dogs to invasive and painful experimentation. Simmons said she wants to see a federal law requiring research facilities to send animals to rescues after research is over, something that is already law in some states.The closure follows months of escalating pressure on the facility. In March, animal activists broke into the farm and took dogs, leading to 27 arrests. A special investigation found the facility had performed a cherry-eye procedure on dogs without proper modern veterinary techniques, and Ridglan agreed to surrender its state breeding license by July 1 to avoid felony animal mistreatment charges. In April, Ridglan agreed to sell about 1,500 dogs to rescue groups. Ridglan Farms did not answer questions from 12 News Monday, but did send a statement confirming the sale of the 325 dogs and that Ridglan is donating the remaining 150 in August.Ridglan Farms says its beagles are “happy, healthy animals as demonstrated by USDA inspection documentation and also the most recent DATCP inspection which occurred just a few weeks ago. DATCP officials identified no animal care issues whatsoever during their May 11th visit. We hope these dogs will continue to flourish in their new homes.””Now that transfer plans have been finalized for the rest of Ridglan Farms’ dogs, we ask that the years-long harassment campaign targeting the research facility’s owners, staff and neighbors comes to an end,” the statement reads, in part.
Ridglan Farms, the Wisconsin beagle breeding facility that has supplied dogs to research laboratories for nearly 60 years, will permanently close after Big Dog Ranch Rescue negotiated an agreement for the transfer of the 475 remaining dogs.
The first transfer of 325 beagles was set for June 15-16, with the remaining 150 to be released by the beginning of August.
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Big Dog Ranch Rescue, based in Loxahatchee Groves, Florida, said some of the beagles will go to rescue partners and some will go to BDRR’s Florida and Alabama campuses, where they will be spayed, neutered and prepared for adoption.
After the August transfer, there will be no more dogs at Ridglan Farms.
In a news conference Monday, Big Dog Ranch Rescue founder and CEO Lauree Simmons says Ridglan Farms agreed to cease operations.
“It is in our binding legal contract they are permanently closing, all of the dogs by Mid-August will be released to us. Not one dog left behind. No more breeding, no more testing,” Simmons said.
The Center for a Humane Economy, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, said it received confirmation from Ridglan’s attorney that the company is winding down operations.
Joseph Goode, a Milwaukee-based attorney representing the center, spoke with Ridglan attorney Eric McLeod at the beginning of June regarding the potential transfer of the company’s remaining dogs. During that conversation, McLeod indicated that Ridglan Farms would be “winding down” its operations following the transfer of the remaining dogs.
Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy, said he heard from two Ridglan employees that the work of animal advocates “has driven us out of business.”
“I didn’t want to wait any longer to share this extraordinary news of Ridglan’s impending closure, since it has been such an eagerly awaited outcome for many millions of Americans,” said Pacelle, whose organization led the discussions with Ridglan to purchase dogs and guide them to a better path. He added that “there’s been an ensemble cast that has produced this outcome, including Big Dog Ranch Rescue (BDRR),” its partner on the series of actions that produced the release of 1,635 dogs in May and June.
The agreement completes the rescue and relocation of 2,110 beagles carried out since April 29. The Center for a Humane Economy described Ridglan Farms as the second-largest beagle supplier to laboratories in the country.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue said it will continue fighting to end the use of dogs in research and testing and hopes that the Department of Health and Human Services will discontinue funding studies that subject dogs to invasive and painful experimentation. Simmons said she wants to see a federal law requiring research facilities to send animals to rescues after research is over, something that is already law in some states.
The closure follows months of escalating pressure on the facility. In March, animal activists broke into the farm and took dogs, leading to 27 arrests. A special investigation found the facility had performed a cherry-eye procedure on dogs without proper modern veterinary techniques, and Ridglan agreed to surrender its state breeding license by July 1 to avoid felony animal mistreatment charges. In April, Ridglan agreed to sell about 1,500 dogs to rescue groups.
Ridglan Farms did not answer questions from 12 News Monday, but did send a statement confirming the sale of the 325 dogs and that Ridglan is donating the remaining 150 in August.
Ridglan Farms says its beagles are “happy, healthy animals as demonstrated by USDA inspection documentation and also the most recent DATCP inspection which occurred just a few weeks ago. DATCP officials identified no animal care issues whatsoever during their May 11th visit. We hope these dogs will continue to flourish in their new homes.”
“Now that transfer plans have been finalized for the rest of Ridglan Farms’ dogs, we ask that the years-long harassment campaign targeting the research facility’s owners, staff and neighbors comes to an end,” the statement reads, in part.
