Big Dog Ranch Rescue agrees to buy 1,500 Beagle from Ridglan Farms
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy agreed Wednesday to buy 1,500 beagles from Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin facility with roughly 2,000 dogs. The beagles are set to move later this week into rescue care, shifting most of the animals away from the breeding operation.
Lauree Simmons, the rescue’s president and founder, called the deal “a very big win” and said she was “ecstatic to have these dogs out and get them into loving homes.” She said the dogs will first receive medical exams, microchips and vaccinations before they are assessed for adoption.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue Plan
The dogs will be transported later this week from Ridglan to partner agencies and to Big Dog Ranch Rescue facilities in Florida and Alabama. Simmons said the rescue’s Loxahatchee, Florida, facility is the largest cage-free, no-kill dog rescue operation in the country.
She said the dogs will need work before adoption. “These dogs need to learn to walk on a leash,” Simmons said. “They need to learn to live in a home environment, be housebroken, spayed and neutered.”
Ridglan Farms Protests
The agreement comes after a series of confrontations at Ridglan Farms. In March, activists broke into the facility and left with 30 beagles. On April 18, about 1,000 activists returned, and police used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray against them.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Department said 29 people were arrested and five face felony burglary charges. Last week, activists filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin alleging that police used unnecessary force during the April 18 response.
Ridglan Farms Breeding License
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. A special prosecutor determined that Ridglan was performing eye procedures on the dogs that violated state veterinary standards.
Simmons said the rescue group moved on the buyout differently from the activists who broke in earlier this year. “What they did was put the message out,” she said of the activists. “What we did, we wanted to do legally and in the best way and for the best outcome of these dogs for the future.”
The purchase price was not disclosed, and the plan covers nearly three-quarters of Ridglan Farms’ beagles. The remaining dogs were not addressed in the agreement.
