US EditionHundreds trying to storm Wisconsin beagle research facility met with rubber bullets and pepper spray
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as about 1,000 activists tried to seize nearly 2,000 beagles, but no dogs were removed.
- On Saturday, hundreds of animal activists attempted to storm Ridglan Farms beagle-breeding facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, fast-tracking a raid originally planned for Sunday; an activist rammed a pickup truck through the front gate at about 10 a.m., nearly hitting police before arrest.
- Ridglan Farms has operated for nearly 60 years breeding thousands of beagles for laboratory sale; last year, a special prosecutor found the facility violated veterinary standards after dogs underwent eye operations without general anesthesia, prompting the agreement to surrender its state breeding license by July 1.
- Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett reported between 300 and 400 protesters were 'violently trying to break into the property' and attempting to 'assault' officers; police deployed tear gas and pepper spray against the crowd of about 1,000 protesters, making a significant number of arrests.
- No dogs were removed from the facility by 2 p.m. on April 18; at least a dozen activists, including Organizer Wayne Hsiung, were arrested, and activists later protested outside the downtown Madison jail, with one describing the operation as 'intensely dramatic and traumatic.'
- Matt Johnson, spokesperson for the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs, said anonymous donors offered $1 million to purchase all 2,000 dogs; this was the second attempt in as many months, with 70 criminal charges referred for 63 people from the March break-in.
166 Articles
166 Articles
Animal Rights Activists Target Wisconsin Facility Accused of Breeding Dogs for Medical Experiments
Police fired tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets at hundreds of animal rights activists in Wisconsin on Saturday as they attempted to rescue about 2,000 dogs from a facility that breeds beagles for medical experimentation. The crackdown by Dane County sheriff’s deputies left scores of activists injured; 25 people were arrested. Protesters were attempting to enter a property owned by Ridglan Farms, which agreed last fall to surrender its st…
Sun-Sentinel
Chicago TribuneAnimal welfare protesters converge on Wisconsin governor’s office seeking release of beagles
An estimated 1,000 activists from around the country came to Ridglan Farms in an attempt Saturday to free an estimated 2,000 beagles kept there.
1000 people came to a Wisconsin protest to save tortured beagles, were met with rubber bullets and pepper spray
About 1,000 animal welfare activists converged on a beagle breeding and research facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, only to be turned away by police using pepper spray and rubber bullets. The tense standoff at the Ridglan Farms facility, located about 25 miles southwest of Madison, marked the second major attempt by protesters in as many months to access the site and remove the animals held within. Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett stated, “Th…
Police clash with animal rights activists during attempted beagle rescue
Tear gas is deployed by police Saturday at Ridglan Farms. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Castagnozzi)Clouds of tear gas engulfed the Ridglan Farms Biomedical research facility, as police repelled hundreds of animal rights activists attempting to breach the facility to carry away thousands of beagles bred and housed inside. The activists gathered at Ridglan in the Dane County village of Blue Mounds on Saturday, a day ahead of the date they’d publicly …
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