About 1,500 beagles in Wisconsin that have been at the centre of a fierce fight waged by animal welfare activists are moving to new homes.
A facility, Ridglan Farms, breeds the beagles for biomedical research aimed at improving veterinary medicine. Last fall, a special prosecutor found that Ridglan had performed procedures on the beagles that constituted mistreatment. The company has denied that it abuses animals.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which has campuses in Florida and Alabama, has bought 1,000 of the dogs and is working to find homes for them, said Lauree Simmons, president and founder of the rescue service.
The Beagle Freedom Project, an animal rescue and advocacy group, is working to find homes for the other 500 dogs.
The special prosecutor had let Ridglan Farms avoid prosecution on the condition that it surrender its breeding license by July, which would end its ability to sell dogs to outside labs.
But the company was permitted to continue experiments on the beagles, even though former employees testified that the dogs had undergone eye surgeries without general anaesthesia.
Over the past few months, protesters have tried on separate occasions to enter the facility and steal the beagles. In March, some activists were successful and took 22 beagles, which were subsequently adopted.
In April, activists trying to take more beagles from the facility were thwarted by police and private security guards, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets on an estimated 1,000 protesters, witnesses said. Dozens of people were arrested, activists said.
'Happy lives'
In an emailed statement, Ridglan Farms said it was finalising arrangements for the remaining dogs and that “the decision to sell the dogs is not related to any specific event.”
Ridglan added, “As the dogs sold last week leave our veterinary research facility, we hope they will continue to live happy lives in their new adopted homes.”
The 1,500 beagles were removed from the facility earlier this month, Simmons said, adding that 180 of those taken from Ridglan so far had been taken to her group’s ranch in Florida, while another 120 had been moved to rescue groups in New York and Chicago.
“They are all doing wonderful in our cage-free bunk rooms with giant play yards, with swimming pools,” she said of the dogs in Florida. “They are having the time of their life, being loved on and cared for by our staff.”
The beagles from Ridglan were of all ages and generally appeared to be in good health, Simmons said, adding that they would get whatever medical attention they needed in addition to spaying and neutering.
The Center for a Humane Economy, an animal welfare nonprofit that worked to secure the beagles’ release, said in a statement that the effort “reflects a broader shift toward ending the use of dogs in invasive research and replacing outdated practices with humane, modern alternatives.” – ©2026 The New York Times Company
