Dane County Sheriff Calvin Barrett said 300 to 400 people were “attempting to violently enter” the Ridge Run Farms facility.
Activists plan daytime raid on Ridge Run Farms Beagle facility
Animal rights activists are planning a public raid on Wisconsin’s Ridge Run Farm to rescue thousands of beagles kept for research purposes.
On April 18, hundreds of animal activists stormed a beagle breeding facility in Wisconsin, hoping to take the dogs on a “rescue” mission, quickly moving forward with an attack they had planned for the next day.
Dane County Sheriff Calvin Barrett said in a social media update that as of approximately 11:30 a.m. local time, 300 to 400 people were “attempting to violently enter” the Ridge Run Farms facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, and “assault” deputies at the scene.
The action was originally planned for the morning of April 19, as the facility has been embroiled in animal abuse allegations, which the facility adamantly denies. In March, 27 people were arrested in a similar operation and more than 20 dogs were taken from a facility breeding dogs for sale for scientific research.
“This is the right time and we are seizing the moment,” organizers said in a blog post on the morning of April 18.
Barrett said the activists had ladders and entry tools to break through the fence, and Ridge Run Farms had recently beefed up security around the facility with hay bales, a moat and additional fencing, according to photos shared by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Organizers previously said they planned to use any peaceful means necessary to enter the facility and remove an estimated 2,000 or more dogs. Participants were prohibited from bringing any weapons, including pepper spray, and risked arrest and felony charges.
“The concept behind public rescues is that we have a legal and moral obligation to protect these animals when no one else takes action,” Lisa Castagnozzi, a Milwaukee animal advocate who leads the effort’s support team, previously told the Journal Sentinel.
What’s going on at Ridge Run Farms?
Video posted on social media showed a chaotic scene with hundreds of people gathering outside the fenced facility, climbing hay bales and fences, and sheriff’s deputies wearing gas masks firing tear gas as some activists were helped from the ground.
Ridge Run Farms told the Journal that Sentinel activists began storming the property around 9 a.m. Saturday.
Mr Ridgran said he was arrested around 10 a.m. after an activist driving a pickup truck crashed through a gate and sped through the grounds, nearly hitting police, security guards and bystanders.
A Ridge Run spokesperson said no dogs had been removed from the facility as of 2 p.m. April 18. Most of the people who tried to break in had left by about 2 p.m., Rigran said, but some remained on the road and the facility wasn’t sure if any would return.
Mr Barrett said activists were obstructing emergency services on the roads.
“I want to be clear that this is no longer a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
Organizer Wayne Shun said on his Facebook page that the group tried to contribute to Ridgelan’s April 18 lawsuit alleging violent intimidation by armed security forces.
“At least 12 activists have been arrested,” Shun said in an April 18 social media post. According to updates on his account, he was also taken to jail.
Matt Johnson, spokesman for the Ridge Run Dog Rescue Coalition, said April 18 that organizers are in talks with Ridge Run to purchase the dogs. Johnson said anonymous donors will provide $1 million to release all 2,000 dogs at the facility.
The operation started a day early.
Ridge Run Rescue activists had previously said they wanted at least 2,000 volunteers to storm the facility on the morning of April 19 and remove all beagles from the premises. Barrett warned activists that law enforcement would be present at Ridge Run Farms to support their right to free speech, but that breaking the law would not be tolerated, calling the action a planned and “deliberate intrusion.”
“A critical line must be drawn between peacefully protesting and expressing dissent and violently entering a facility, damaging property or stealing private property,” Barrett said. “We want everyone who comes into our community from the outside to respect our laws and respect our values here in Dane County.”
“Sometimes the only way to make change is to change yourself…If politicians won’t rescue the dogs, we will,” Shun said in a social media post earlier this week in response to the sheriff’s office.
What is Ridge Run Farm? Why is it controversial?
Ridge Run Farms is a state-licensed dog breeding operation located in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, about 30 miles outside Madison. The company breeds and sells thousands of beagles to research institutes for medical and scientific research and has been in operation for nearly 60 years.
A special prosecutor appointed last year found that Ridgran violated veterinary standards after a former employee testified that he had been subjected to abuse, including performing eye surgeries on dogs without general anesthesia. Prosecutors determined that this act amounted to animal cruelty. Other allegations were not substantiated by prosecutors.
To avoid prosecution, the facility agreed to return its state breeding license by July 1 and end its practice of selling dogs to outside researchers, according to the special counsel’s report. The company can continue breeding dogs for its own internal research.
Ridge Run Farms states on its website that “no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment, or neglect at Ridge Run Farms has ever been submitted or substantiated.”
Are there any charges against animal activists?
More than a month after the March break-in, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office announced it has forwarded 70 criminal charges against 63 people to the local district attorney, who will decide whether to investigate. Charges range from theft and trespassing to conspiracy and criminal damage to property.
“When people start trespassing and breaking the law, we have to intervene,” Barrett previously said.
The District Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
