MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Animal shelter groups said Wednesday they have agreed to buy nearly 1,500 beagles from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research company where violent clashes broke out earlier this month between activists who tried to break into the business and police who fought them off with tear gas and pepper spray.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for Humane Economics said they have reached a confidential agreement with Ridglan Farms to purchase 1,500 of the facility’s approximately 2,000 beagles for an undisclosed price. It’s unclear what plans are in store for the remaining dogs.
Richland Farms did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
“This is a huge victory and I’m so excited to get these dogs out and into loving homes,” Lauree Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, told The Associated Press.
Simmons said she could not discuss payment for the dogs, how long the transaction was in progress or how many beagles remained at Reedglen after the transaction.
Simmons said the 1,500 dogs will be transported from Ridglan later this week to partner agencies and Big Dog Ranch rescue facilities in Florida and Alabama. She said they will receive physical exams, microchips and vaccinations before being evaluated for adoption.
“These dogs need to learn to walk on a leash,” Simmons said. “They need to learn to live in a domestic environment, be abused by the family, spayed and neutered.”
But even if they’re not being exercised in their adopted home, Simmons said they can return to Big Dog Ranch Rescue at any time. Big Dog Ranch Rescue says its facility in Loxahatchee, Florida, is the largest cage-free, no-kill dog rescue in the United States.
For a decade, animal activists have been pushing for people to adopt Richland Farm’s dogs instead of selling them to other research facilities.
Simmons said her organization was not involved in the recent protests that have drawn increased attention to Ridglen, but she praised activists for raising awareness of what was happening.
“All they do is get a message out,” Simmons said of the activists. “What we do, we want to do it in the best way possible, legally, and with the best outcome for the future of these dogs.”
On April 18, about 1,000 activists from across the country came to Richland Farm in the Blue Hills countryside and tried to take away the beagle, which is about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) southwest of the capital Madison. They were met by police, who used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray to disperse them. The Dane County Sheriff’s Department said a total of 29 people were arrested, with five facing felony burglary charges.
Activists filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin last week accusing police of using unnecessary force to fight off people who tried to break into the facility and remove the dogs. Richland said those who tried to break in were “violent thugs” who “carried out an attack on a federally licensed research facility.”
In March, activists broke into Richland and left with 30 beagles. The Sheriff’s Department referred 63 people to the district attorney for potential charges related to the break-in.
Richland Farms agreed in October to give up its state breeding license effective July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on felony animal cruelty charges. Richland Farms denies animal cruelty, but a special prosecutor determined that Richland Farms violated state veterinary standards by performing eye surgeries on dogs.
