Animal refuge groups announced last Wednesday that they have agreed to purchase nearly 1,500 beagles from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility, the same site where a violent clash broke out earlier this month between activists attempting to break in and police who used tear gas and pepper spray to repel them, reports AP.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy said they have entered into a confidential agreement with Ridglan Farms to buy 1,500 of the facility’s roughly 2,000 beagles for an undisclosed price. What will happen to the remaining dogs remains unclear.
Ridglan Farms did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “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(AP).
Simmons said she could not disclose the payment amount, how long the deal had been in the works, or how many beagles remain at Ridglan following the agreement.
The 1,500 dogs will be transported later this week from Ridglan to partner agencies as well as to Big Dog Ranch Rescue facilities in Florida and Alabama, Simmons said.
She added that the beagles will receive medical exams, microchips, and vaccinations before being assessed for adoption.
Animal rights activists say the conflict at Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, is the latest chapter in a years-long battle between the facility, which breeds beagles for biomedical research, and those opposed to its practices.
They note the dispute centers on allegations of systemic animal cruelty and the legal boundaries of “open rescue” as a form of protest.
