More than 100 protesters gathered outside the Capitol hallway leading to the offices of Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, chanting 'Free the dogs!' to demand the release of an estimated 2,000 beagles and the shutdown of the Ridglan Farms facility. Police officers met the protesters and handed out constituent contact forms, but Evers and Kaul did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Activists wanted Attorney General Josh Kaul to execute a search warrant on the facility to investigate allegations of ongoing animal cruelty.
This followed a larger protest on Saturday, where an estimated 1,000 activists from around the country converged on Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds in an attempt to free the beagles. Police repelled activists with tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray. The Dane County Sheriff's Department said 29 people were arrested on Saturday. Protesters tried to overcome barricades including a manure-filled trench, hay bales, and a barbed-wire fence; some got through the fence but were unable to enter the facility. Activist Julie Vrzeski said she felt defeated after no dogs were successfully seized about three hours into the operation.
No credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett defended officers' actions, saying their response was 'appropriate and decisive' to the risk posed by 300-400 protesters attempting to break into the facility. Many activists returned to the Capitol on Monday to decry law enforcement's reaction, with some showing bruises they said were caused by rubber bullets.
Ridglan Farms has denied mistreating animals but agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges. On its website, Ridglan Farms says no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated. The facility says it has served as a biomedical research facility for over 60 years, with nearly all current research aimed at improving veterinary medicine. In a statement Monday, Ridglan Farms said activists have spread false and misleading claims, fueling anger and hatred, and that staff have been threatened and followed.
Appropriate and decisive.
This incident follows a March raid where activists removed 13 dogs from the Ridglan Farms facility. The Dane County Sheriff's office has referred charges for burglary and trespassing, among others, to the local district attorney's office against 62 people related to the March incident. In a Substack post, Wayne Hsiung reiterated the group's commitment to protest action, expressing shock, guilt, and determination not to give up on the dogs.
This is not a peaceful protest.
As I sit in a jail cell, I am feeling a mix of shock from the sudden escalation of violence and guilt for the failure to protect the people I love. Above all, we cannot give up on our purpose. We cannot give up on the dogs. If we stay focused on this purpose, the repression will backfire. The public will see armed men attacking grandmas desperately trying to save dogs, and their conscience