Dog dish. PC: Fox 11 Online
BLUE MOUNDS, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A beagle breeding and research facility in Dane County has reportedly reached an agreement to sell a majority of its dogs to different groups.
According to WMTV, Ridglan Farms said the decision to sell “a substantial majority” of its dogs was made after negotiations with groups that agreed to purchase the animals. The Associated Press reports Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy will buy 1,500 of the roughly 2,000 beagles.
It’s unclear what the plans are for the remaining 500 or so dogs. It’s also unknown how much money Ridglan Farms agreed to sell the dogs for.
“It’s a very big win and I am ecstatic to have these dogs out and get them into loving homes,” Lauree Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, told The Associated Press. She said the dogs will receive medical exams, microchips and vaccinations before they are put up for adoption.
“These dogs need to learn to walk on a leash,” Simmons told The Associated Press. “They need to learn to live in a home environment, be housebroken, spayed and neutered.”
Earlier this month, approximately 1,000 people from around the country descended on rural Blue Mounds in an attempt to break into Ridglan Farms and free the beagles kept there. A violent clash transpired, with law enforcement using tear gas and pepper spray to repel the animal welfare activists. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office said 29 people were arrested.
Following that incident, activists converged outside of Gov. Tony Evers’ Capitol office, demanding he and Attorney General Josh Kaul do what they can to shut down the facility.
Ridglan Farms has repeatedly denied mistreating any animals. However, last October, it agreed to give up its state breeding license, effective July 1, as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges after a special prosecutor determined the facility was performing eye procedures on its beagles that violated state veterinary standards.
Ridglan said it has served as a biomedical research facility “that supports health studies benefitting both humans and animals” for more than six decades. Its website claims almost all of its current research is aimed at improving veterinary medicine.
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