Over 1,000 animal activists staged a break-in at Ridglan Farms, a beagle breeding facility in Blue Mounds, aiming to take all of the approximately 2,000 dogs inside the facility. According to Ridglan Farms, the action began at 9 a.m. and most activists left by 1:30 p.m., with at least a dozen arrests made, “mass medical emergencies” according to The Cap Times, and no dogs confirmed to have been taken from the property as of 6:00 p.m.
The raid follows a smaller-scale break-in on March 15 where activists removed 22 beagles from the property. Activists characterized both that and the April 18 movement as peaceful and nonviolent; Ridglan Farms and the Dane County Sheriff’s Office called it an assault.
Ridglan Farms estimated 1,500 activists at the scene in a press release this morning. According to Ridglan, police arrested an activist driving a pickup truck through the property’s front gate around 10 a.m. and activists tossed tear gas canisters back into police. The Dane County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said 300-400 people attempted to break into the facility, blocking entrance and exit routes.
Ridglan Farms, a research dog breeder that has previously supplied dogs to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has faced backlash and recent lawsuits over animal cruelty. Ridglan Farms said the raid, originally scheduled for 8 a.m. Sunday, could cause $6 million in damages to the property and that protesters attempted to cut fences, carrying crowbars, sledgehammers and electric saws.
No activists entered the building housing the dogs, though some breached the barbed-wire fence surrounding the facility, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Armed police wore gas masks, deploying tear gas and rubber bullets. They kicked and beat a man trying to enter a fence, leaving him bloodied and missing teeth according to The New York Times. Hay bales, fences and a trench surrounded the property. According to one woman in a livestream on Unchained TV, the property also had electric fences. Activists pushed hay bales into the trench and climbed over them.
White-clad activists on the “red team” planned to enter the facility, while plainclothed activists on the “yellow team” planned to trespass on property but not enter the facility. Activists on the “green team” held signs and protested outside on public property.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction over Blue Mounds, issued 70 charges to 63 people after the March 15 incident. Charges included burglary, trespassing and criminal damage to property. 17 agencies responded to the April 18 scene, according to The Cap Times.
Police arrested the movement’s leader, lawyer Wayne Hsiung, soon after activists arrived on the scene at 9 a.m and jail records show his booking at 9:48 a.m for burglary of a building or dwelling. In 2024, Hsiung wrote a “right to rescue” memorandum in Harvard Law Review arguing for the legality of a raid. In a press statement, Ridglan Farms called for Hsiung to be disbarred and blamed him for all injuries incurred to "break-in participants, their supporters or police."
The action likely involves at least 12-15 UW-Madison students, according to Brian Wagenaar, a first-year law student at UW-Madison and yellow team lead. Wagenaar, who took part in the March 15 operation, said Hsiung spoke about the event on campus in January. He said 2,059 people signed up for the April 18 event including 585 people on red teams, 595 people on yellow teams, 796 on green teams, and 88 team leads.
“The goal is to help get as many dogs out as possible,” Wagenaar told The Daily Cardinal. “The legal system is unwilling at this point to step up and do their job and to help these dogs… We’re trying to put pressure on the system to recognize this continuous wrong that has been occurring.”
Ridglan Farms will lose their breeding license after July 1, but is allowed to keep dogs on the property past that date as a research facility. Their lead veterinarian Richard Von Domelen lost his license after non-veterinarian employees were found performing operations on beagles, and a Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection inspection found 311 code violations in September.
Micah Scott, a UW-Madison senior studying Spanish, legal studies and sociology, told the Cardinal she’d be on the red team. She’s been involved with local animal rights organization Dane4Dogs since she was a freshman.
“I'm graduating this year… [a felony charge] is definitely a concern,” Scott told the Cardinal. “[But] it feels like something I absolutely have to do. My dog honestly saved my life. She got me out of a really awful depression, and I feel like I owe it to other dogs to save them.”
In a press release, Barrett said the police will “enforce the law impartially and decisively if necessary. This includes addressing trespassing, burglary, criminal damage to property, obstruction of an investigation, and any other illegal actions.”
UW-Madison spokesperson Gillian Drummond told the Cardinal that student criminal conduct in Dane County is forwarded to UW-Madison and the university can take action for non-academic misconduct.
“UW-Madison embraces the free expression rights of students and employees, within the boundaries of the law, and does not involve itself in their personal activities,” Drummond said in a statement.
At a hearing Thursday, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, whose district includes Blue Mounds, asked U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to suspend funding to laboratories associated with Ridglan Farms.
