June 15, 2026:
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin beagle breeding farm that’s been the site of recent violent protests is closing, and its remaining dogs are being taken in by a Florida rescue group.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue announced Monday (June 15, 2026) that it has reached an agreement for the permanent closure of Ridglan Farms and the transfer of its 475 remaining beagles starting this week.
“Not one dog will remain,” Lauree Simmons, the group’s founder, said in a news conference at a farm in Wisconsin. “No more breeding, no more testing, no more anything.”
The rescue group said some of the beagles will go to other rescue groups while others will be sent to its Florida and Alabama campuses where they will be spayed, neutered, and prepared for adoption.
The group bought roughly 1,500 of the farm’s more than 2,000 beagles in April for an undisclosed price.
About 200 dogs were transferred from the farm starting Monday morning, according to Simmons. Another 125 will be moved Tuesday. The transfer of the remaining beagles will happen in August, as they are still puppies.
Simmons called on protesters to refrain from further demonstrations as it says Ridglan Farms has committed to permanently closing its dog breeding, sales, research and testing operations.
She said her group and others are “working closely” with the Trump administration to stop funding studies that subject dogs to invasive and painful experimentation.
“Our focus now should be on supporting these dogs as they transition into their new lives,” Simmons said. “These dogs will get to experience safety and a normal life for the first time.”
Ridglan Farms, in a statement Monday, said all the dogs being transferred are “happy, healthy animals” with “extensive” state and federal inspection documentation.
“We hope these dogs will continue to flourish in their new homes,” the farm said, adding that the “years-long harassment campaign targeting the research facility’s owners, staff and neighbors comes to an end.”
The dog breeding and research business is located in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Madison.
Animal activists have been pushing for years to have dogs at the facility adopted, not sold to other research facilities.
Beagles are the most common breed of dog used for animal testing, primarily because of their smaller size and gentle temperament, according to Big Dog Ranch Rescue.
In April, police used tear gas and pepper spray to repel a large group of animal welfare activists that stormed the farm in an attempt to take beagles from the facility. Protesters also broke into the facility in March and took 30 dogs, leading to dozens of arrests.
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.
The firm has denied mistreating animals, but a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms was performing eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards.
May 4, 2026:
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The first beagles removed from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility that was the site of recent protests seemed to know right away that they were safe.
“They started within an hour or so coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled in people’s laps. Every single one of them are super sweet,” Lauree Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, said Sunday. “I think they are loving the attention. I just know they know they’re safe.”
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy negotiated a confidential agreement to purchase the 1,500 dogs for an undisclosed price from Ridglan Farms, where police used tear gas and pepper spray to repel activists trying to take beagles from the facility last month. Protesters also broke into the facility in March and took 30 dogs. Sixty-three people were referred by the sheriff’s department to the district attorney for potential charges related to that break-in.
Talks to purchase the animals began months before the April disturbance, and Simmons said her group wasn’t connected to the protests. Now, Big Dog Ranch Rescue is working with partners all over the country to find homes for 1,000 of the dogs, while the Center for a Humane Economy is taking the rest.
Simmons said her group has received over 700 adoption applications, but it might take some time before the hounds are ready for their new homes as the organization screens potential dog parents, moves the animals to shelters around the country and ensures the beagles are housebroken.
The first 300 dogs were taken from Ridglan on Friday, with more scheduled for removal over the next week. The animal groups have set up a staging area with play yards in Wisconsin, where the dogs are being vaccinated, microchipped, spayed or neutered and prepared for transport, Simmons said. Big Dog Ranch Rescue has already started moving dogs to its location in western Palm Beach County, Florida.
“The younger dogs will adjust quicker, and the older dogs will take time,” Simmons said. “A lot of them are more willing to accept love and want to be with people.”
Ridglan Farms didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Beagles are the most common breed of dog used for animal testing, primarily because of their smaller size and gentle temperament, Simmons said.
“A Belgian Malinois is not going to put up with being tested on, being confined in a kennel their whole life,” Simmons said of the athletic shepherd dogs commonly used by police and the military. “Beagles are just so trusting and docile and calm and forgiving, so they are the most chosen dogs for animal testing. And so we’re going to take one of the sweetest, kindest, most trusting breeds and abuse them? This is wrong. This needs to stop.”
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. The firm has denied mistreating animals, but a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms was performing eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards.
About 1,000 activists from across the country came to Ridglan Farms in the rural village of Blue Mounds, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Madison, on April 18 in an attempt to take the beagles. They were met by police who used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. The Dane County Sheriff’s Department said 29 people were arrested and five face felony burglary charges.
Activists have filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin alleging that police used unnecessary force. Ridglan has said those who tried to break in were a “violent mob” who launched “an assault on a federally licensed research facility.”
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