Blue Mounds, Wisconsin – Police responded to hundreds of animal rights activists who tried to enter a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin on Saturday by firing tear gas and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridgelan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles southwest of the capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Calvin Barrett said in a video statement that between 300 and 400 protesters were “violently attempting to enter the property” and assault officers. He said that the demonstrators ignored the areas designated for peaceful protest and closed the roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
Protesters attempted to overcome barriers that included a trench filled with manure, bales of straw, and a barbed wire fence. Some protesters were able to cross the fence, but were unable to enter the facility, which is home to an estimated 2,000 beagles. The Wisconsin State Journal reported.
“I feel defeated,” activist Julie Vrzeski told the newspaper about three hours into the operation after no dogs had been successfully captured. Activists moved from the Ridgelan facility to protest outside the prison in downtown Madison later Saturday.
The Ridgelan Dog Rescue Alliance announced its plans to capture the dogs on Sunday, but launched its operation the day before. X account of the group’s leader, Wayne Hsiung, I posted a picture To arrest him at the scene.
The person who drove a pickup truck through the front gate of the property, nearly running over police officers and staff, was also arrested, Ridglan said in a statement.
In March, protesters stormed the facility and took 30 dogs. Twenty-seven people were arrested on trespassing and other charges.
Ridglan has denied abusing the animals, but agreed in October to give up her state breeding license effective July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on animal abuse charges.
On its website“No credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, abuse or neglect at Ridgelan Farms has been presented or proven,” says Ridglan.