Big Dog Ranch Rescue said Monday it has reached an agreement to permanently close Ridglan Farms, a beagle breeding and research facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, and to take in all 475 remaining dogs starting this week.
The group’s founder, Lauree Simmons, announced the plan at a news conference at a farm in Wisconsin. “Not one dog will remain,” Simmons said. “No more breeding, no more testing, no more anything.”
The closure follows years of opposition from animal welfare activists that escalated sharply in the spring. In April, a large group of protesters stormed the property in an attempt to remove beagles, prompting police to deploy tear gas and pepper spray as they made dozens of arrests. The previous month, activists broke into the facility and took 30 dogs, leading to additional arrests.
Ridglan Farms is located in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles southwest of Madison, Wisconsin’s capital. The AP reported that the transfer agreement means all remaining animals will be removed from the site.
The incident was part of a broader wave of activism targeting facilities that breed dogs for research. Big Dog Ranch Rescue is based in Florida and specializes in rescue and rehoming operations.