Organizers say more than 1,700 people are committed to nonviolence. In a statement, Ridge Run Farms called the operation planned for April 19 a trespass.
Animal rights activists attack Wisconsin beagle farm and take 23 dogs with them
Activists filmed themselves breaking into Ridge Run Farm, just outside Madison, where beagles are bred for research purposes. More than 20 people were arrested.
Video provided by Wayne Hsiung and Curtis Vollmar
Animal rights activists are preparing to attempt a raid on a controversial beagle breeding facility, invading and removing thousands of dogs they say are being abused. The surgery will take place in broad daylight, rather than in the middle of the night, and is planned in public for all to see.
The planned April 19 mission at Ridge Run Farms comes after a much smaller action in March that prompted the Wisconsin facility to increase safety measures. The property is now lined with wire fences, hay bales and ditches, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
In March, dozens of activists entered the compound and removed 23 dogs, resulting in 27 arrests. They have not yet been formally charged, according to the local district attorney. Ridge Run Farms, embroiled in accusations it has denied for years, has agreed to stop breeding dogs for outdoor sale by this summer to avoid prosecution, but activists say the dogs are suffering in the meantime.
Organizers have now posted details online, including times, team composition, and a public registration form that has drawn more than 1,700 participants who plan to take part in what they say will be a strictly non-violent operation. Ridge Run Farms said the action could result in millions of dollars in damages.
“We’re asking the police to help,” Lisa Castagnozzi, a Milwaukee animal advocate who is leading the operation’s support team, told the Journal Sentinel. “The concept behind open rescue is that we have a legal and moral obligation when no one else takes action to protect these animals.”
Organizers have warned participants that they could be arrested and even charged with a felony, but the facility believes they are acting legally to prevent harm to the beagles, a claim the facility rejects.
What is Ridge Run Farm? Facility that breeds beagles for research purposes
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.
The facility is federally licensed as both a dog breeder and research facility and is accredited by AAALAC International, an organization that sets standards for the care of research animals.
Last year, a Dane County judge appointed a special prosecutor to investigate Ridge Run Farms after a former employee testified that the dogs were mistreated, including undergoing eye surgeries without general anesthesia.
The special prosecutor determined that the eye treatment violated state veterinary standards and amounted to animal cruelty.
In exchange for the state not filing charges, Ridge Run agreed to surrender its state breeding license by July 1, 2026 and end its practice of selling dogs to outside researchers, according to the special counsel’s report. They can continue to breed dogs for their own internal research.
The facility told the Journal Sentinel in a statement that it is honoring the settlement agreement and that its research will lead to new vaccines and veterinary treatments for animals.
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.”
Activists say they plan to adopt all 2,000 beagles using “all non-violent means”
Organizers of the April 19 “Ridge Run Rescue” call for all participants to behave non-violently. Castagnozzi said the team has been training via Zoom on non-violent protocols and legal risks.
“Everyone must practice nonviolence,” she said. “Weapons are not allowed. Pepper spray is also not allowed.”
When registering, volunteers are asked to specify the level of risk they expect from the surgery. Green team-level risks include being on public property, according to a strategy document posted online. Yellow means there is a potential misdemeanor charge of trespassing, and participants will be “on the premises to witness, assist, and de-escalate tensions.” The Red Team has registered a potential felony offense and plans to enter the building to “directly rescue the animal.”
“On April 19th, 2,000 rescue workers will descend on Ridge Run Farm from all directions and use all non-violent methods to breach the facility’s walls and rescue the dogs. If the police illegally try to stop us, we will protect each other from their attempts to harm the dogs and pressure the police to enforce the law and protect the dogs,” organizer attorney Wayne Shun wrote in a blog post. “There’s nothing stopping us from letting all 2,000 beagles out of their cages…”
Castagnozzi, who took part in the March action, described hearing the “wall screams” of about 1,500 beagles as he approached the windowless shed where the dogs were being held.
Ridge Run Farm prepares for ‘illegal’ encroachment
In a statement, Ridge Run Farms characterized the April 19 operation as a trespass that could have caused up to $6 million in damage and endangered personnel, law enforcement, activists and animals.
The company said the activists were recruiting “well-intentioned individuals to participate in dangerous and illegal activities that likely result in prison sentences.”
Ridge Run has been building new barriers since March, according to photos seen by the Journal Sentinel. Hay bales stacked 5 to 6 feet high now line the property, as well as trenches filled with rocks and what appears to be fertilizer. It looks like wire has been added to the existing fence as well.
Rigran declined to discuss safety measures, citing safety concerns.
The company previously told the Journal Sentinel that the facility was “relying on state and federal authorities” to recover the 23 dogs that were removed in March, and that “the individuals who removed the dogs should be subject to appropriate penalties.”
More than 100 animal shelters and humane organizations in Wisconsin have signed a letter supporting the effort and offering to rescue the dogs, Castagnozzi said. Our referral team has also been coordinating recruitment for several weeks.
Is it legal to “rescue” animals from facilities?
Organizers of the Ridge Run operation argue in an online document that the public has a legal and moral obligation to rescue the dogs. Organizers have accused government authorities of failing to protect the animals.
They claim they have a “right to rescue” animals in imminent danger of abuse or death.
Kristen Stilt, a Harvard law professor and director of the Animal Law and Policy Program, wrote a court brief in support of defendants charged with trespassing at Ridge Run Farms in 2017 (the charges were later dropped). In his brief, he said criminal acts such as trespassing are legally defensible if the act is necessary to prevent harm to others, and argued that “other people” could include animals.
But Stilt said the legal defense likely hasn’t been tested before a U.S. jury. Shun acknowledged that it could be rejected by a judge. Participants in the April 19 Action who register online should be aware of the risk of arrest, criminal charges, imprisonment, and other legal consequences. However, it is said that the possibility of receiving specific legal punishment is low.
Their large numbers also give activists an advantage, Shun said.
“If we can mobilize 2,000 rescue workers, they can’t arrest and jail us all,” Shun wrote in the post.
What are police doing about raids?
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office told the Journal Sentinel it was aware of the activists’ plans but would not comment on response strategy. The sheriff’s office and district attorney did not respond to requests for further information from USA TODAY.
In a recording of the March 26 call shared with the Journal Sentinel, Shun told Dane County Sheriff Calvin Barrett about his plans for the second operation.
In the call, Barrett acknowledged that activists have a First Amendment right to peacefully protest, but said law enforcement would intervene if they broke the law. He said on April 19 that his priority was to maintain peace.
When activists break the law to pursue their goals, they are no longer simply expressing their right to free speech, said Timothy Zick, a professor at William & Mary School of Law and author of “Managed Dissent: The Laws of Public Protest.”
“Any act, violent or otherwise, that violates the law is not protected speech. There is no First Amendment right to trespass or ignore property laws,” Zick told USA TODAY via email.
Castagnozzi said he was concerned that law enforcement would not protect activists on April 19 and the situation could become chaotic. But she and the others plan to carry on regardless.
“We are as prepared as we can be,” she said. “We’re just there peacefully and doing what we think is legal.”
Quinn Clark is a public investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. You can email QClark@gannett.com.
