Animal rights activists are planning another operation at Ridglan Farms, a Blue Mounds beagle breeding facility, for April 19.
It comes about a month after dozens of activists entered the property and took 23 dogs, resulting in 27 people getting arrested. According to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office, charges have not yet been filed.
Unlike the first operation, organizers have posted full details online, including timing, team structures and a public signup form that has drawn over 1,700 people planning to participate.
“We’re inviting the police to help us,” said Lisa Castagnozzi, a Milwaukee animal advocate leading a support team for the operation. “The concept behind open rescue is that we have a legal and moral obligation to go in when no one else has acted to protect these animals.”
Ridglan Farms is a facility about 30 miles outside Madison licensed by the state as a dog breeding operation. It breeds thousands of beagles and sells them to laboratories for medical and scientific research and has operated for nearly 60 years.
Ridglan Farms holds federal licenses both as a dog breeder and as a research facility, and is accredited by AAALAC International, an organization that sets standards for the care of research animals.
A Dane County judge appointed a special prosecutor to investigate last year after former employees testified that dogs were being mistreated, including having eye surgeries performed on them without general anesthesia.
The special prosecutor determined that the eye procedures violated state veterinary standards and constituted animal mistreatment.
In exchange for the state not prosecuting, Ridglan agreed to surrender its state breeding license by July 1, 2026, according to the special prosecutor’s report, ending its practice of selling dogs to outside researchers. It can continue breeding dogs for its own internal research.
In a statement, Ridglan Farms characterized the April 19 operation as an illegal break-in that could cause up to $6 million in damage and put staff, law enforcement, activists and animals at risk.
A spokesperson for Ridglan said activists are recruiting “otherwise well-meaning individuals to join them in dangerous and unlawful actions that will likely lead to jail time.”
The spokesperson also said the research facility is complying with the settlement agreement and that its studies lead to new vaccines and veterinary treatments for animals.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office could not be immediately reached on April 10.
In a recorded March 26 call shared with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, attorney Wayne Hsiung, who organized the first break-in, told Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett about his plans for the second operation.
Barrett acknowledged the activists’ First Amendment right to peaceful protest but said law enforcement would intervene if they broke the law by breaking and entering. He said his priority was maintaining peace on April 19.
Animal rights activists say they plan to remain nonviolent
The April 19 plans, detailed on the group’s website, assign participants to color-coded teams based on arrest risk: green for standing on public property, yellow for potential misdemeanor trespassing charges, and red for potential felony charges.
Castagnozzi said her team has been training via Zoom on nonviolence protocols and legal risks.
“Everyone is to remain nonviolent,” she said. “There’s no weapons allowed. Not even pepper spray.”
Ridglan has built new barriers since March, according to photos reviewed by the Journal Sentinel. Hay bales stacked 5 to 6 feet tall now line the property, along with a trench filled with rocks and what appears to be manure. Additional wire also appears to have been added to existing fencing.
Ridglan declined to discuss security measures, citing safety concerns.
He previously told the Journal Sentinel the facility was “relying on state and federal authorities” to retrieve the 23 dogs taken in March and that “individuals who took them should face the appropriate penalties.”
Castagnozzi said she hasn’t heard of any efforts by law enforcement to retrieve the dogs.
More than 100 Wisconsin animal rescues and humane societies have signed a letter supporting the operation and offering to shelter the dogs, Castagnozzi said. A placement team has also been coordinating adoptions for weeks.
Castagnozzi, who participated in the March rescue, described approaching the windowless sheds where dogs are housed and hearing “a wall of screaming” from roughly 1,500 beagles.
During the March 15 operation, the only violence came from a Ridglan employee who slashed activists’ tires, shoved one protester against a car and hit a van carrying beagles, according to Hsiung.
Ridglan Farms denied those allegations in March.
“Nobody from Ridglan Farms slashed tires or rammed anyone or anything with a vehicle,” a spokesperson said.
Castagnozzi said she’s concerned law enforcement won’t protect activists on April 19, leaving the situation potentially chaotic. But she and others plan to proceed regardless.
“We’re as prepared as we can be,” she said. “We’re there peacefully and we’re doing what we feel is legal.”
Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com.
(April 11, 2026: This story has been updated to meet our standards.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Activists plan second operation to remove beagles from Ridglan Farms
Reporting by Quinn Clark, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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