Animal refuge groups said Wednesday they reached a confidential agreement to buy nearly 1,500 beagles from Ridglan Farms, the Wisconsin breeding facility that has long been at the center of animal welfare protests. The dogs are set to leave later this week for partner agencies and for Big Dog Ranch Rescue facilities in Florida and Alabama.
The deal covers 1,500 of the facility's roughly 2,000 beagles, and the price was not disclosed. Before any adoption decisions are made, the dogs will receive medical exams, microchips and vaccinations. Big Dog Ranch Rescue said its Loxahatchee, Florida, site is the largest cage-free, no-kill dog rescue operation in the country.
Lauree Simmons, who is involved with the rescue effort, called the agreement a major victory and said she was ecstatic to see the dogs out and headed toward loving homes. She said the animals will need time and care before they can be placed, adding that they must learn to walk on a leash, live in a home, be housebroken and be spayed and neutered.
The agreement lands after years of pressure on Ridglan Farms from activists who have demanded that the dogs be adopted rather than sold to other research facilities. About 1,000 activists from across the country came to the site in rural Blue Mounds on April 18, and police repelled them with tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. The Dane County Sheriff's Department said 29 people were arrested and five face felony burglary charges.
That confrontation followed another clash in March, when activists broke into Ridglan and left with 30 beagles. The sheriff's department referred 63 people to the district attorney for potential charges related to that break-in. Ridglan Farms agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges, and a special prosecutor later determined the facility was performing eye procedures on the dogs that violated state veterinary standards.
The new agreement leaves one major question unresolved: what will happen to the remaining dogs at the facility. For now, the focus is on moving the 1,500 beagles out, checking their health and preparing them for homes after years in a place that has drawn national scrutiny and repeated protest.