The story of Ridglan Farms – a facility that breeds beagles for medical research in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin – went viral in March 2026 after animal rights activists broke into the facility and removed several dogs.
More than 1,000 of the Ridglan Farms beagles have since been adopted, while hundreds more are still inside.
Here’s how we got here, and what’s happened since.
April 2017: The first break-in
Three members of the national animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere, including co-founder Wayne Hsiung, break into Ridglan Farms and take three beagles. The group is known for its practice of breaking into farms and and taking animals as a form of protest.
The group accuses Ridglan Farms of mistreating the beagles in its care. Footage that the group captures inside the facility becomes the basis of an investigative story published by The Intercept in 2018.
Hsiung and the others are charged with felony burglary and theft.
March 2024: Charges dropped
Nearly seven years later, days before trial, Ridglan Farms asks prosecutors to drop the charges against Hsiung and the others, citing threats against employees.
April 2024: Activists ask a judge to investigate
After repeatedly asking local law enforcement and prosecutors to investigate Ridglan Farms, Hsiung and two local animal rights groups petition Dane County Circuit Judge Rhonda Lanford to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate conditions at Ridglan.
October 2024: The judge hears testimony
At an evidentiary hearing, Lanford hears from six witnesses, including two former Ridglan employees.
They testify that workers frequently removed protruding eyelid glands – a condition known as “cherry eye” – from dogs without anesthesia or pain management.
December 2024: Ridglan’s head vet comes under scrutiny
Local animal rights group Dane4Dogs files a complaint with the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board against Richard Van Domelen, Ridglan’s head veterinarian. It alleges that Van Domelen allowed unlicensed staff to perform cherry eye removals on dogs without anesthesia or pain control.
January 2025: Special prosecutor appointed to investigate Ridglan
Lanford finds the testimony credible enough to move the case forward. She appoints La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke as a special prosecutor and orders him to determine whether Ridglan Farms should face criminal charges.
February 2025: Surprise veterinary board inspection
During an unannounced visit by the state veterinary board, Ridglan staff tell inspectors they have been performing cherry eye procedures on beagles for years – work that state law reserves for licensed veterinarians.
September 2025: Hundreds of violations and a suspended vet license
The Wisconsin Veterinary Board votes to suspend Van Domelen’s license for allowing unlicensed employees to perform surgeries, then violating the board’s conditions when given a chance to fix it.
Shortly after, the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection files a civil enforcement action against Ridglan citing 311 violations. Of these, 308 are tied to individual cherry eye procedures performed on beagles between 2022 and 2025.
The agency fines Ridglan $55,148, but the fine is later dropped.
October 2025: A deal to stop selling dogs
Gruenke, the special prosecutor, finishes his review of the evidence and concludes that the cherry eye procedures are chargeable under state law as felony animal mistreatment.
To avoid prosecution, Ridglan Farms agrees to surrender its state breeding license by July 1, 2026, ending its practice of selling beagles.
The $55,148 fine is folded into the settlement, meaning Ridglan does not have to pay it.
March 15, 2026: Nearly a decade later, another Ridglan break-in
Led by Hsiung, about 50 people descend on Ridglan and take 23 beagles. They film the operation, which goes viral.
Twenty-seven people are arrested.
April 18, 2026: Another attempted raid ends in tear gas
Weeks later, activists publicly recruit volunteers for another attempted raid. Around 1,000 people show up at Ridglan Farms.
Some people begin breaking through the fence. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office deploys tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets.
At least 25 people are arrested. No dogs are removed.
April 20, 2026: Fallout from the raid
In the days after the failed raid, protesters across Dane County demand action from Gov. Tony Evers.
At the state Capitol building, demonstrators display wounds they say came from rubber bullets.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett defends the response as “appropriate and proportionate” and says no one was seriously injured.
Meanwhile, the Dane County District Attorney’s Office charges Ridglan Farms with constructing a manure storage facility without a permit. Ridglan says it simply dug a security trench around its perimeter to impede “a dangerous mob.”
April 23, 2026: Federal lawsuit alleges excessive force used
Two Utah women – Joanna Baird, 51, and Linda Gregersen, 52 – file a federal lawsuit against the Dane County Sheriff’s Department and other law enforcement, alleging excessive force during the April 18 raid.
The suit also calls the manure-filled trench a public health hazard.
April 29, 2026: A deal is reached to purchase 1,500 dogs
Ridglan agrees to sell 1,500 of its more than 2,000 dogs to two animal rescue organizations – Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy – for an undisclosed amount.
May 1, 2026: The dogs start leaving
The first 300 beagles leave Ridglan Farms by van for a facility in Marshall, Wisconsin. Another 16 fly out the next day, bound for shelters in New York and Virginia.
Of the 1,500 dogs that were sold, 500 will remain in Wisconsin, available for adoption through the Humane Animal Welfare Society in Waukesha and the Dane County Humane Society.
May 18, 2026: A fight over the remaining dogs
Animal rights attorneys file a court order to stop Ridglan from euthanizing any remaining dogs. Court records show Ridglan has acknowledged it sometimes euthanizes dogs it considers unsellable.
May 21, 2026: Activists plead not guilty to felony charges
Four activists – Hsiung, Aditya Aswani, Dean Wyrzykowski and Michelle Lunsky – plead not guilty to felony charges from the March break-in.
Each faces charges of burglary, criminal damage to property, theft and attempted theft, facing a maximum of 31 years in prison.
That same day, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan says on social media that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has directed Ridglan Farms to surrender its federal breeding license by July 1 or face official action. Ridglan says that license will become moot once it gives up its state license anyway.
What’s next?
More than 500 beagles remain at Ridglan Farms. The company hasn’t said what will happen to the remaining dogs and has declined to give an exact number, citing safety concerns.
A spokesperson says only that it “is in the midst of finalizing arrangements.”
Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: From the first raid to now, a timeline of controversy at Ridglan beagle farm
Reporting by Quinn Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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