Fifteen of the beagles rescued from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility are on their way to new lives in the Big Apple.
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A flight was scheduled to leave Palm Beach International Airport on Friday with the pups from Ridglan Farms to take them to be matched with loving families.
Yearslong opposition to the facility came to a head in April when a large group of animal welfare activists stormed the property in an attempt to take away beagles, prompting police to use tear gas and pepper spray as they made dozens of arrests.
Some protesters were also arrested in March after they broke in and took 30 dogs from the facility, which is located in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Madison.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Palm Beach bought roughly 1,500 of the facility’s more than 2,000 beagles in April for an undisclosed price. On Monday, the rescue said it reached an agreement for the permanent closure of Ridglan Farms and the transfer of its 475 remaining beagles starting this week.
“Not one dog will remain,” Lauree Simmons, the group’s founder, said in a news conference at a farm in Wisconsin. “No more breeding, no more testing, no more anything.”
Friday’s flight is a joint effort between Big Dog Ranch Rescue, Second Chance Rescue NYC and Pilots to the Rescue, a nonprofit dedicated to animal emergency transport.
Controversy surrounding Ridglan Farms research facility
Simmons called on protesters to refrain from further demonstrations as it says Ridglan Farms has committed to permanently closing its dog breeding, sales, research and testing operations.
“Our focus now should be on supporting these dogs as they transition into their new lives,” Simmons said. “These dogs will get to experience safety and a normal life for the first time.”
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Simmons said her group is also “working closely” with the Trump administration to stop funding studies that subject dogs to “invasive and painful experimentation.”
Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., called Monday’s deal a “major win for animal welfare” in a post on X.
Ridglan Farms, in a statement, 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,” the company said, adding that it hopes that the “years-long harassment campaign targeting the research facility’s owners, staff and neighbors comes to an end.”
Animal activists for years had sought to have dogs at the facility adopted, not sold to other research facilities.
Beagles are the most common breed of dog used for animal testing, primarily because of their smaller size and gentle temperament, according to Big Dog Ranch Rescue.
Ridglan Farms agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges.
The firm has denied mistreating animals, but a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms was performing eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards.
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