A beagle breeding operation in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin — a small town roughly 25 miles southwest of Madison — is shutting down for good, and the hundreds of dogs still on the property are heading to a rescue organization.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue announced Monday that it has reached an agreement with Ridglan Farms for the permanent closure of the facility. As part of the deal, the rescue group will take in the farm’s 475 remaining beagles beginning this week.
According to Big Dog Ranch Rescue, some of the dogs will be distributed to other rescue organizations, while the rest will be transported to the group’s campuses in Florida and Alabama. There, the animals will be spayed or neutered and prepared for adoption into permanent homes.
This is not the first time Big Dog Ranch Rescue has stepped in at this facility. Back in April, the organization purchased approximately 1,500 of the farm’s more than 2,000 beagles for an undisclosed sum. The transfer of the remaining dogs is expected to wrap up by August, at which point no animals will remain at the property.
The rescue group is urging protesters to stand down, saying Ridglan Farms has committed to permanently ending its dog breeding, sales, research, and testing operations.
Lauree Simmons, founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, addressed the situation in a statement: “Our focus now should be on supporting these dogs as they transition into their new lives.”
Representatives for Ridglan Farms did not respond to phone or email messages seeking comment on Monday.
Animal rights advocates have spent years pushing for the facility’s dogs to be placed in adoptive homes rather than sold to research labs. Beagles are the most widely used breed in animal testing, largely due to their small size and calm nature, according to Big Dog Ranch Rescue.
The farm has been the scene of significant unrest in recent months. In April, law enforcement deployed tear gas and pepper spray against a large group of activists who stormed the property in an attempt to remove dogs. In March, protesters broke into the facility and took 30 beagles, resulting in dozens of arrests.
Ridglan Farms previously agreed in October to surrender its state breeding license effective July 1 as part of an arrangement to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges. While the company has denied any wrongdoing, a special prosecutor found that the farm had been conducting eye procedures that did not meet state veterinary standards.
