Ridglan Farms is a case study in all kinds of failure — regulatory, professional, ethical.

From agencies passing the buck, to the USDA admitting it doesn’t understand its own rules, to veterinary licenses not even being required of veterinarians—all while animals continue to suffer—Ridglan has become a poster child for the sham that is “oversight” in the animal research industry.

And, now we’ve hit another layer.

In response to the emergency suspension of its lead veterinarian, Ridglan suggested it’s subbing in two vets who were themselves under state investigation—and one of whom has already been disciplined for similar misconduct in the past.

By way of background: Ridglan is owned by three veterinarians—David Williams, Jeffrey Ballmer, and Jim Burns (who has let his license lapse)—and the estate of a fourth, Ralph McGrew. All four have long-standing ties to one another, with records suggesting that they partnered not only at Ridglan but also at Mount Horeb Animal Hospital.

Fast forward to this month, in which Ridglan told the press that two of its three veterinary owners “remain licensed to care for our animals, and will do so for the time being” (i.e., during lead vet Van Domelen’s suspension). That statement, while vague, all but confirms that Williams and Ballmer—both actively licensed to practice veterinary medicine in Wisconsin—are acting in Van Domelen’s stead.

And that should trouble us.

Like Van Domelen, David Williams and Jeffrey Ballmer were under investigation by the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board (VEB) at the time of Ridglan’s statement (and until just this past Tuesday).

In fact, it was the same complaint, filed by Dane4Dogs, that likely triggered all three investigations. The complaint alleges that Van Domelen and Williams engaged in “repeated and systematic violations of Wisconsin’s Code of Veterinary Ethics, as well as Wisconsin’s animal cruelty laws, over the course of many years at Ridglan Farms”—and it implicates both vets in the “felony mutilation of dogs by performing surgeries without anesthesia or veterinary supervision” and “improper delegation of surgical procedures to non-veterinary students and non-veterinary technicians,” among other wrongs.

Though the complaint names only Van Domelen and Williams, it is believed that—after screening the complaint—the VEB opened an investigation into Ballmer, as well.

And, for one of them—Williams—this isn’t even his first brush with the VEB.

In 2015, Williams was disciplined for conduct that closely mirrors what Van Domelen is accused of now. 

Following the death of one of his patients, Williams was found to have engaged in “unprofessional conduct” by failing to maintain adequate records. Per the VEB, “Williams failed to record “sufficient information to justify the diagnosis and warrant treatment,” specifically failing to record the patient’s temperature and weight, history and physical examination findings, and exam notes and diagnostic information.

Sound familiar? It should. Because it’s nearly identical to the grounds for VEB’s emergency suspension of Van Domelen.

Prior to his suspension, the VEB had explicitly ordered Van Domelen to comply with Wisconsin law, including by documenting “sufficient information to justify the diagnosis and warrant treatment,” “anesthesia monitoring in surgical records,” medical necessity for “cherry eye” surgery, and “a thorough exam to establish a risk analysis and to establish an appropriate analgesic and anesthetic protocol prior to performing” surgeries. 

But, he didn’t—and upon “follow-up inspection,” the VEB found “more than 150 medical/surgical records” still “lacking the majority of the required information.” 

Now, while Van Domelen remains suspended pending his November 5, 2025, “show cause” hearing, Ridglan is laying its animals at the mercy of other vets subject to state investigation—and one who’s even been reprimanded before. 

And, somehow, this is legally allowed.

It’s yet another glaring example of the state of “oversight” in the animal research industry—an industry so callous, so brazen that it appears to openly welcome two veterinarians under active investigation for professional misconduct to stand in for a colleague already suspended for professional misconduct. 

It’s more proof that the system doesn’t protect the victims—it protects the perpetrators.

And, it reaffirms what we already know: that the industry doesn’t need reform. It needs dismantling.

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