MADISON – Should President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. be given credit for the release of hundreds of beagles this week from a Wisconsin testing and breeding facility?
It’s not clear if the two served a role, but the administration has taken to social media to champion the dogs’ release, after the facility announced it would release the last of the beagles this summer and shutter its business.
Ridglan Farms this week announced the pending closure of its operations in August after releasing more than 2,100 dogs in its care to animal rescue organizations. Florida-based Big Dog Ranch Rescue received hundreds of the beagles this week, and will receive the last of the dogs soon.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue did not immediately respond to requests for more information about the Trump administration’s involvement. A spokesperson for the White House also did not respond to a request for more information.
But the Trump administration seems to be taking credit for the release of the beagles, which came after years of allegations of mistreatment, legal action and break-ins and protests by local and national activists, including two attempted raids in the spring.
In a Facebook post, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services attributed the release of the final nearly 500 beagles to President Trump and Kennedy.
“Thanks to the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Secretary Kennedy, 475 beagles are being freed from a breeding facility that supplied dogs for animal testing,” the post to Facebook said. “They will now be transferred to a cage-free, no-kill facility for rehabilitation before finding the forever homes they deserve.”
In a post to X, Kennedy appeared in a video alongside U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and said they secured “a major win for animal welfare” through the release of the beagles.
“Accountability matters. Animal welfare matters. And enforcement matters,” Rollins said.
In the video, Rollins said the USDA asked Ridglan to surrender its federal breeding license by July 1. Wisconsin had already ordered the surrender of its state license by the same date. Ridglan Farms has previously said that its federal license would become moot once it gives up its state license anyway.
While it is unclear if either Trump or Kennedy participated in the release of the beagles, the administration is launching efforts to halt the use of animal testing.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue founder Lauree Simmons said at a June 15 media conference that she has been working with Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, on that effort, including on legislation and on the creation of a new research center that will move testing away from the use of animals, called the Office of Research, Innovation, Validation and Application, or ORIVA.
Lara Trump serves on the board of directors for Big Dog Ranch.
“We are working very closely with the Trump administration, RFK Jr., and the Department of Health and Human Services and are very confident they will move away from funding studies that subject dogs to invasive and painful experimentation,” Simmons said.
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, who has spoken out on the issue many times in Washington D.C., said in an interview that Trump and RFK seem to be taking credit for the work of the rescue organizations and Lara Trump.
“Her group deserves every bit of credit, along with the other groups and the advocates that have pushed for this,” Pocan said.
Pocan did credit the Trump administration for working to end animal testing. Thanks to advances in science, Pocan said he hopes to see animals phased out of medical testing and research, even if it is expensive to make the change.
According to the USDA’s most recent report, 42,880 dogs were used in research facilities in 2024. Federal law requires that pain be minimized and that researchers consider alternatives to painful procedures.
Because of their similar biology to humans, dogs are often used to test new drugs and medical devices for both humans and animals. They aren’t commonly used to test cosmetics.
‘Beagle Liberation Act’ is being written
In addition, Simmons said a bill called the “Beagle Liberation Act” is being written, outlining that dogs removed from testing facilities should be put up for adoption instead of euthanized. Simmons urged Congress to support the bill when it is introduced.
“If a dog or cat is healthy, viable and adoptable, they should be given an opportunity to find a loving home. This is not a partisan issue. It is an American value by Republicans and Democrats and independents alike,” Simmons said.
More than 2,100 beagles were either purchased or donated to Big Dog Ranch and other organizations, which are working to find adoptive homes for them.
The release of the dogs came after months of unrest outside of Ridglan, where activists attempted to raid the facility twice in the spring. In March, about 50 people entered the facility and removed 23 beagles.
In April, roughly 1,000 people attempted a second operation and were met with tear gas and rubber bullets from the Dane County Sheriff’s Office. No dogs were removed.
Last year, a special prosecutor found enough evidence to charge Ridglan Farms with animal mistreatment for allowing staff to remove eye glands from dogs without anesthesia. In October 2025, Ridglan agreed to surrender its state dog breeding license by July 1, 2026, to avoid prosecution.
Around the same time, state regulators cited Ridglan for 311 violations, and the facility’s managing veterinarian had his state license suspended in 2025, both in relation to the eye gland procedures.
Ridglan Farms has denied mistreating the dogs in its care and said its beagles have contributed to important medical research for humans and dogs.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X @SchulteLaura.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trump, RFK Jr. take credit for ‘freeing’ Ridglan Farms beagles. Do they deserve it?
Reporting by Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
