A beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin that has been the focus of animal rights protests is shutting down, and a rescue group in Florida is taking in the remaining dogs.
“Not one dog will remain,” Lauree Simmons, founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Florida, said in a press conference announcing the news on Monday. “No more breeding, no more testing, no more anything.”
Groups such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) celebrated Monday’s news as a substantial step toward ending the practice of using animals for research.
“This victory is the culmination of years of pressure from Peta and other animal protection organizations … who challenged a system that breeds dogs and other animals only to be confined, mutilated, poisoned, and killed in laboratories,” said a statement from Peta.
“Peta will build on this momentum by continuing to work to end the use of dogs, primates, and other animals in experiments altogether and replace these cruel, scientifically flawed practices with cutting-edge, superior methods that offer real promise for treatments and cures.”
Protesters descended on the Ridglan Farms breeding and research facility in March and April in an attempt to free the beagles there. An estimated 1,000 activists clashed with police in April in another open rescue attempt for the dogs, resulting in 29 arrests, according to the Dane county sheriff’s department.
“Before the open rescue, activists called upon law enforcement, prosecutors, the governor [of Wisconsin, Tony Evers], humane officers, licensing boards, and judges to protect the dogs from Ridglan’s established, lengthy record of cruelty – without success,” said a statement from Chris Carraway, staff attorney at the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
After the April protests, Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy announced they reached an agreement with Ridglan Farms to buy 1,500 of the 2,000 beagles at the facility for an undisclosed price.
Animal rights attorneys then sought a court order to protect the remaining 500 beagles at the facility.
Ridglan Farms in October had reached an agreement with a special prosecutor to resolve criminal animal abuse allegations against the facility. That settlement required the facility to surrender its license to sell and breed dogs – but did not require any changes for the dogs remaining at the facility.
The facility denied mistreating animals.
On Monday, Big Dog Ranch Rescue announced another agreement with Ridglan Farms for the permanent closure of the facility. That set the stage for the beagles remaining at the site to be transferred to Big Dog Ranch Rescue.
The Big Dog organization said some of the beagles are bound for other rescue groups. Some of the beagles, though, are destined for the organization’s Florida and Alabama campuses, where the dogs are going to be spayed or neutered and then prepared for adoption.
A statement from Ridglan Farms 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,” Ridglan Farms said. The statement said that the company hopes the “years-long harassment campaign targeting the research facility’s owners, staff and neighbors comes to an end”.
The Associated Press contributed reporting