Madison, Wisconsin.. About 25 protesters were arrested when about 1,000 animal welfare activists tried to enter a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin and were met by officers. Firing pepper spray and rubber bulletsSunday, authorities said.
Saturday’s protest was the second attempt in as many months by demonstrators to take beagles from Ridgelan Farms in Blue Mounds, about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Madison. They were brought back by officers who arrested the group’s leader.
The situation was “substantially calmer and more peaceful” on Sunday, when about 200 people gathered outside the farm, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office said. She added that they dispersed after about two hours.
“We are pleased with the group’s cooperation today, and their willingness to remain peaceful, while continuing to send the message of their concern for the dogs at Ridgelan Farms,” Sheriff Calvin Barrett said in a statement. “We are happy to support anyone who wants to exercise the right to protest, as long as they do so legally.”
Al-Sharif said in a video statement on Saturday that between 300 and 400 demonstrators “were violently trying to break into the property.” They tried to overcome barriers that included a trench filled with manure, hay bales, and a barbed wire fence.
Some were able to get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept. The Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Among those arrested was Ridgeline Dog Rescue Coalition leader Wayne Hsiung, 44, of New York, who was being held on a preliminary felony charge of conspiracy to commit burglary. But the Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that most of those arrested had just been booked and released.
“No person should be assaulted because they provided assistance to a dog, even if the property damage was part of a rescue effort,” Hsueng said in a statement from prison on Sunday in which he also accused authorities of using excessive force. “The animals of this earth are not ‘things’.” They are conscious beings. We have the right to save them from exploitation.”
Protesters took 30 dogs when they stormed the facility in March, when authorities arrested 27 people.
Ridglan denies abusing the animals, but agreed in October to give up her state breeding license effective July 1 in a deal to avoid prosecution on animal cruelty charges.
“No credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, abuse or neglect at Ridglan Farms has been presented or proven,” the company says on its website.