Fort Lauderdale, Florida– The first beagles were recently removed from a dog breeding and research facility in Wisconsin that was the site Protests They seemed to know immediately that they were safe.
“They started coming to us within an hour or so, wanting attention. Some of them crawled into people’s arms. Every one of them is so sweet,” Lori Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, said Sunday. “I think they like the attention. I know they know they are safe.”
Big dog farm rescue and Center for Human Economics Negotiated a confidentiality agreement to purchase 1500 dogs For an undisclosed price from Ridgelan Farms, where police used tear gas and pepper spray to repel them Activists Trying to pick up a beagle from the facility last month. Protesters also stormed the facility in March and took 30 dogs. Sixty-three people have been referred by the Sheriff’s Department to the District Attorney for possible charges related to this break-in.
Talks to purchase the animals began months before the April unrest, and Simons said her group is not connected to the protests. Now, Big Dog Ranch Rescue is working with partners across the country to find homes for 1,000 dogs, while the Center for Humane Economics handles the rest.
Simmons said her group has received more than 700 adoption applications, but it may be some time before the beagles are ready for their new homes, as the organization screens potential dog parents, transports animals to shelters across the country and makes sure the beagles are house-broken.
The first 300 dogs were taken from Ridgelan on Friday, with more set to be taken in over the next week. Animal groups have set up a staging area with playgrounds in Wisconsin, where dogs are vaccinated, microchipped, spayed or neutered and prepared for transport, Simmons said. Big Dog Ranch Rescue has already begun transporting dogs to its location in western Palm Beach County, Florida.
“Younger dogs will adapt faster, while older dogs will take some time,” Simons said. “A lot of them are more willing to accept love and want to be with people.”
Ridglan Farms did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Beagles are the most common dog breed used in animal experiments, primarily because of their smaller size and gentle temperament, Simmons said.
“A Belgian Malinois will not tolerate being tested, as it will remain confined in a kennel for the rest of its life,” Simons said of the sporting sheepdogs commonly used by police and the military. “Beagles are so reliable, docile, calm and tolerant that they are the dogs of choice for animal testing. So we’re going to take one of the sweetest, most trusting breeds and use it? This is wrong. This has to stop.”
Ridgelan Farms agreed in October to give up its state breeding license effective July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on animal abuse charges. The company denied abusing the animals, but a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms was performing eye procedures that violated government veterinary standards.
About 1,000 activists from across the country came to Ridgelan Farms in the rural village of Blue Mounds, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Madison, on April 18 in an effort to seize the beagles. They were confronted by police who used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. The Dane County Police Department said 29 people were arrested and five counts of felony burglary.
Activists filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin alleging police used unnecessary force. Those who attempted to break in were a “violent mob” who launched an “attack on a federally licensed research facility,” Ridglan said.