About 1,000 Activists Clash With Police at Wisconsin Beagle Facility, Multiple Arrested
About 1,000 animal welfare activists descended on a Wisconsin beagle research facility Saturday, trying to reach roughly 2,000 dogs housed inside. They were met with rubber bullets and pepper spray.
None of the beagles were removed.
The confrontation unfolded at Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, about 25 miles southwest of Madison. The Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs had announced plans to seize the animals Sunday but launched the operation a day early, on Saturday, April 18.
A Chaotic Scene at Ridglan Farms
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property.” He accused demonstrators of assaulting officers, ignoring designated protest areas and blocking roads for emergency vehicles.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
Law enforcement fired rubber bullets and deployed pepper spray against the crowd. A “significant” number of arrests were made out of the approximately 1,000 protesters, though an exact total was not confirmed.
The group’s leader, Wayne Hsiung, was among those arrested. An image of his arrest was posted on his X account. Officers also arrested an individual who “recklessly” drove a pickup truck through the front gate, “preventing a potentially deadly outcome,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Barricades at the facility included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and barbed-wire fence. Some protesters breached the fence but did not reach the facility interior.
‘I Just Feel Defeated’
For activists who came to save the dogs, the outcome was crushing.
“I just feel defeated,” Julie Vrzeski, an activist, told the Wisconsin State Journal.
After Saturday’s confrontation, activists later protested outside the jail in downtown Madison.
The scene was markedly different the following day. Around 200 people assembled outside the farm on Sunday in what the Dane County Sheriff’s Office described as “significantly calmer and more peaceful.” The group dispersed after about two hours.
“We’re pleased with the group’s cooperation today, and their willingness to remain peaceful, while still sending their message of concern for the dogs at Ridglan Farms,” Barrett said in a statement. “We are happy to support anyone who wants to exercise the right to protest, as long as they do so lawfully.”
What Happens to the Dogs?
This was the second protest attempt at Ridglan Farms in two months. In March, protesters entered the facility and removed 30 dogs. Twenty-seven people were arrested on trespassing and other charges.
The facility’s future is already changing. In October, Ridglan Farms reached an agreement to surrender its state breeding license effective July 1, in order to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges.
Still, the facility has pushed back against the accusations. In a statement on its website, Ridglan Farms said “no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.”
An estimated 2,000 beagles remain housed at the facility, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The looming July 1 deadline raises an urgent question for the activists and animal lovers following this story: what will happen to those dogs once the breeding license is surrendered?
For now, the beagles are still inside, and the people who traveled to Blue Mounds to get them out went home empty-handed.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
