Ridglan Farms, the Blue Mounds breeding facility that bred and sold beagles for medical testing, is winding down its operations this August after releasing 2,100 dogs to animal rescue organizations in exchange for an undisclosed sum of money.
The identity of the anonymous donor who funded the purchase of the beagles has not been revealed, but is widely rumored to be Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump.
Lara Trump sits on the board of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, one of the two rescue organizations that purchased the beagles, and has spoken out multiple times about the beagles since April.
Here’s what we know about her role in the beagles’ release, and her charity work with Big Dog Ranch Rescue.
What led to Ridglan Farms closing?
Ridglan Farms has bred and sold beagles for medical testing since 1966. Activists have said for years that dogs were being mistreated and repeatedly attempted to break into the facility and remove the dogs themselves.
Their activism led to a 2024 evidentiary hearing in front of a Dane County judge, where former employees testified that staff frequently cut out dogs’ eye glands without anesthesia.
A special prosecutor appointed by the judge eventually concluded the procedures were chargeable under state law as felony animal mistreatment.
To avoid prosecution, Ridglan agreed to surrender its state breeding license by July 1, 2026, ending its practice of selling beagles.
Unsatisfied, activists broke into Ridglan twice this spring. On March 15, about 50 people removed 23 dogs. On April 18, a bigger attempt ended in law enforcement shooting tear gas and pepper balls and arresting 25 people.
How is Lara Trump connected to the Ridglan Farms beagles?
Lara Trump sits on the board of directors of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, the Florida nonprofit that bought roughly 1,500 of Ridglan’s beagles this April, along with the Center for a Humane Economy, another rescue organization.
Ridglan sold roughly 135 more beagles to Big Dog Ranch Rescue for an undisclosed amount in early June, then transferred its final 475 dogs this week.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue, founded by Lauree Simmons in 2008, describes itself as the largest cage-free, no-kill dog rescue in the country.
In June, the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed credit for the final round of releases from Ridglan Farms. Kennedy also praised Lara Trump for the Ridglan releases on June 15, thanking her for “championing the issue.”
Lara Trump has been a staunch animal rights advocate for years, and the Trump administration has stated that one of its goals is to end animal testing for medical research.
CBS News reported in February that Lara Trump took part in a roundtable with officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services that helped shape Attorney General Pam Bondi’s animal welfare enforcement plan.
Lara Trump has also been named to the Federal Animal Cruelty Task Force alongside Kennedy, Bondi and Simmons.
Did Lara Trump help fund a $1 million deal for the Ridglan Farms beagles?
On April 18 – the same day activists attempted to breach Ridglan Farms for a second time – Lara Trump posted a video on Instagram saying Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy had offered $1 million for the release of an estimated 2,000 beagles.
She said in the video that Ridglan turned down their offer, although the deal ended up eventually going through for an undisclosed amount.
Simmons has said the deal was funded by a single anonymous donor for less than $1 million but hasn’t said who that donor was.
It’s still unclear how much, if anything, Lara Trump personally contributed.
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan told the Journal Sentinel in a June 17 interview that Lara Trump helped fund the purchase of the dogs, but Big Dog Ranch did not respond to requests for confirmation.
Pocan said that though the Trump administration seems to be taking credit for the rescues, Lara Trump deserves the recognition.
“Her group deserves every bit of credit, along with the other groups and the advocates that have pushed for this,” Pocan said.
The White House has not responded to several requests for comment.
What else has Lara Trump said about the beagles?
As the first beagles began leaving Ridglan Farms on May 1, Lara Trump posted a video to Facebook celebrating their release.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue also posted a video on May 18 showing Lara Trump and her family visiting beagles at its Florida sanctuary. She left the visit with a new foster pitbull named Jude.
What criticism has Lara Trump faced over her animal charity work?
Lara Trump faced criticism in 2021 after HuffPost reported that Big Dog Ranch Rescue had spent close to $1.9 million on fundraising events at properties owned by her father-in-law, President Donald Trump, since 2014.
Lara Trump has co-chaired the charity’s signature Mar-a-Lago fundraiser since 2018. The charity’s founder said at the time that Lara Trump has never been paid by the organization and that its events team, not Lara Trump, picks the venue.
The fundraiser has continued in the years since. A March 2026 event at Mar-a-Lago drew celebrities including Katherine Heigl and Jeanine Pirro.
Is Lara Trump involved in developing animal testing legislation?
Yes. At a June 15 news conference, Simmons, the Big Dog Ranch Rescue founder, said she is working with Lara Trump on a proposed “Beagle Liberation Act” and a new federal research center dedicated to moving medical testing away from animals.
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: What we know about Lara Trump’s role in the Ridglan Farms beagle release
Reporting by Quinn Clark and Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Quinn Clark and Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
