FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The first beagles removed from a Wisconsin research facility that has been the focus of heated animal‑welfare protests appeared to know they were safe almost immediately, according to the head of the rescue organization now caring for them.
“They started within an hour or so coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled in people’s laps. Every single one of them are super sweet,” Lauree Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, said Sunday. “I think they are loving the attention. I just know they know they’re safe.”
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy negotiated a confidential purchase agreement for the 1,500 beagles from Ridglan Farms, the facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, that breeds dogs for research. Talks to acquire the animals began months before an April 18 protest that drew roughly 1,000 activists from across the country, according to Simmons, who said her organization was not connected to the demonstrations.
At the April event, activists attempted to remove beagles from the property. They were met by police who deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray. The Dane County Sheriff’s Department said 29 people were arrested; five face felony burglary charges. Activists have since filed a federal lawsuit alleging that officers used unnecessary force.
A separate break‑in occurred in March, when protesters entered the facility and took 30 dogs. The sheriff’s department referred 63 people to the district attorney for potential charges related to that incident.
Ridglan Farms has characterized those who tried to enter the property as a “violent mob” that launched “an assault on a federally licensed research facility.” The company did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment for this story.
The first 300 beagles were taken from Ridglan on Friday, with additional removals scheduled over the next week. The animal groups have set up a staging area in Wisconsin, where the dogs are being vaccinated, microchipped, and spayed or neutered before transport. Big Dog Ranch Rescue has already moved some dogs to its location in western Palm Beach County, Florida.
Simmons said her organization has received more than 700 adoption applications but that it will take time to screen potential homes, housebreak the dogs, and distribute them to partner shelters across the country. “The younger dogs will adjust quicker, and the older dogs will take time,” she said. “A lot of them are more willing to accept love and want to be with people.”
The rescue comes amid broader scrutiny of Ridglan Farms. In October, the company agreed to surrender its state breeding license by 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 found that it was performing eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards.
Beagles are the breed most commonly used in animal testing because of their small size and docile temperament, Simmons noted. “A Belgian Malinois is not going to put up with being tested on, being confined in a kennel their whole life,” she said. “Beagles are just so trusting and docile and calm and forgiving, so they are the most chosen dogs for animal testing. And so we’re going to take one of the sweetest, kindest, most trusting breeds and abuse them? This is wrong. This needs to stop.”
Big Dog Ranch Rescue expects to place 1,000 of the dogs through its adoption network, while the Center for a Humane Economy will handle the remaining 500. The groups are working to move all the beagles out of the Wisconsin facility within the next two weeks.