Here’s a roundup of the week’s biggest news stories related to animal research — all the recent media coverage you need to know right now to be the most effective activist for animals in labs.
Ridglan to Surrender License, End Dog Sales to Labs
Rise for Animals, 10/28/2025
Under a new agreement with the State of Wisconsin, Ridglan Farms will surrender its breeding license and stop selling beagles for experimentation. Ridglan agreed to give up its breeding license rather than face prosecution for mistreatment to animals. 📰 Full Story →
Ridglan Update: Resolution Passed & New Complaints Filed!
Rise for Animals, 10/27/2025
By a vote of 30 to 5 (with two abstentions), the Dane County Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution 2025-119, calling on the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) to investigate Ridglan—and, as warranted, revoke its state-issued breeding license.
Plus, we’ve filed new complaints: 📰 Full Story →
Suspended Ridglan Vet Replaced by Two Under Investigation
Rise for Animals, 10/30/2025
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.
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. 📰 Full Story →
Ridglan Farms sues DATCP over ‘preferential treatment’ in open records requests
Bryan Polcyn, FOX6 News Milwaukee, 10/23/2025
“Ridglan Farms, a commercial breeder of beagles for research, is suing the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) over what it calls ‘preferential treatment’ in responding to open records requests. The lawsuit asks a Dane County Circuit Court judge to demand the immediate release of thousands of emails. It also seeks statutory and punitive damages plus attorneys fees.”
“In court records filed Wednesday, Ridglan says DATCP produced public records for animal rights organizations and media more quickly and calls on the court to ensure DATCP ‘treats all requesters equally.’” 📰 Full Story →
House committee opens hearings on bill to ban medical research on dogs
Rick Pluta, wdet 101.9fm, 10/24/2025
“A state House committee opened hearings Thursday on a possible ban on medical research using dogs in Michigan. The bill would outlaw medical research and testing that could cause ‘pain or distress’ in dogs. It’s aimed largely at hypertension and cardiovascular research at Wayne State University.”
“Former research veterinarian Sally Christopher said using live dogs for medical experiments is outdated and cruel. ‘The pain and suffering by dogs at Wayne State is plain to see in the university’s own records,’ she said. ‘What’s equally concerning is the fruitless nature of these experiments, which have not yielded benefits for human patients.’” 📰 Full Story →
[2025 Audit] KRIBB Suspected of Illegally Euthanizing at Least 259 Laboratory Primates
Kim Jonghwa, The Asian Business Daily, 10/24/2025
“At least 259 laboratory primates at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB) were effectively euthanized illegally, according to recent findings. It has also been confirmed that false documents were used to report these animals as ‘deceased,’ raising concerns about serious loopholes in the overall management system for laboratory animals at national research institutions.”
“KRIBB submitted ‘deceased animal reports’ to the Jeonbuk Regional Environmental Office, citing ‘positive virus reaction’ as the reason for death. However, it was found that even antigen tests, which could directly confirm infection, were not conducted. Although antibody testing alone cannot confirm infection, large-scale euthanasia was carried out based solely on positive antibody reactions . . . ‘It is extremely concerning that such opaque management of animal experiments occurred at a national research institution, and urgent measures at the government level are needed to prevent recurrence.’” 📰 Full Story →
No more monkey business: NDP bring petition to stop primate imports for medical testing
Rachel Morgan, CityNews Everywhere, 10/26/2025
“ . . . a team of researchers, concerned citizens and opposition are banding together to demand the [Canadian] government halt the import of long-tailed macaques.”
“On Oct. 21, NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice introduced a petition in the House of Commons initiated by Manitoban animal rights activist Twyla Francois. The petition calls on the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada to immediately suspend all imports of monkeys from Cambodia, after the country was caught laundering wild long-tailed macaques as captive-bred.”
“Marciniec said that despite Canada being known as having the ‘friendlier’ government, it is the one continuing to fuel the primate trade. ‘What that means practically is we’ve become the monkey chop shop for the US where they come live and whole here to labs, and end up getting sent, as gruesome as it sounds, as bits and pieces back to the U.S. for whatever those scientists there want to do,’ he said.” 📰 Full Story →
The Lab Mouse Paradox: Why Science Still Depends on Animals Who Don’t Represent Us
Reynard Loki, Counterpunch, 10/27/2025
“More than 111 million mice and rats are used, abused, and killed annually in biomedical research in the U.S. alone . . . Beyond the moral cost lies a scientific problem. Mice and rats are convenient and inexpensive to breed, but they are poor stand-ins for human biology. In a landmark 2004 study, biologists Javier Mestas and Christopher C.W. Hughes found that mice and humans have fundamentally different immune responses, making the animals unreliable predictors of human disease or drug effects . . . ‘In many cases, not only [do] successful mouse therapies fail to work in the clinic, they actually have opposite effects in patients, leading to exacerbation of disease,’ they wrote in a 2007 article . . . These failures are not isolated. Decades of research have shown that many promising treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s, and autoimmune diseases crumble when moved from mouse to human trials. The result is a vast expenditure of time, money, and lives—both animal and human—on models that too often mislead rather than illuminate.”
“[T]he paradox at the heart of modern science: the animals most reviled as pests and most revered as research tools might also be among their most unnecessary casualties.” 📰 Full Story →
Escaped monkeys ‘destroyed’ after Mississippi police are mistakenly told they’re a danger
Cailtin McCormack, New York Post, 10/28/2025
“A number of monkeys were ‘destroyed’ after they got loose Tuesday morning and Mississippi law enforcement officers were mistakenly told they were dangerous. The rhesus monkeys were being transported when the truck carrying them crashed in Jasper County, Mississippi . . . The vehicle’s driver told deputies that the primates posed a threat to humans; that they were aggressive; that they had hepatitis C, herpes and Covid….”
“The [sheriff’s] department said the monkeys were being hauled from Tulane University . . . ‘The primates in question belong to another entity, and they have not been exposed to any infectious agent,’ it said.”
“The sheriff’s department said it contacted an animal disposal firm to take the carcasses at the scene.” 📰 Full Story →
Rep. Nancy Mace Secures Ban on Cruel Animal Testing In NDAA
Office of Congresswoman Nancy Mace, 10/29/2025
“Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC-01) announced the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 includes her provisions to prohibit the Department of War (DoW) from conducting painful and unnecessary testing on cats and dogs and other forms of animal testing.”
“The legislation delivers three critical reforms: ● Temporarily Prohibits Painful Animal Testing: Permanently bans the DoW from using taxpayer dollars to conduct painful research on cats and dogs. ● Blocks Funding for Adversarial Research Facilities: Prohibits DoW funds from supporting animal research facilities in FY26 located in, or owned or controlled by, countries of concern including China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. ● Prohibits Gain-of-Function Research: Bars the DoW from funding any gain-of-function research in FY26 on potential pandemic pathogens.” 📰 Full Story →
Physician to Appeal Dismissal of Case Challenging Macalester College’s Fatal Animal Experiments
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 10/29/2025
“Dr. Neal Barnard, the Macalester College alumnus and plaintiff in the case against the school for its outdated ‘show and tell’ animal laboratories announced his plans to appeal an Oct. 28, 2025, Hennepin County District Court decision affirming the school’s motion to dismiss.”
“The case against Macalester, originally filed in June, accuses the College of having killed thousands of animals to teach elementary concepts in psychology, despite the availability of nonanimal alternatives and despite the College’s posted statements that it applies the highest ethical standards . . . Macalester admitted to the court that its ethics statements were not sincerely held but were ‘at most, “vague or highly subjective” statements.’”📰 Full Story →
Facing claims of animal abuse, a major breeder of research dogs will close its pipeline
David Grimm, Science, 10/29/2025
“To avoid criminal prosecution for allegations of animal abuse, the second-largest breeder of research dogs in the United States will stop providing animals to research labs around the country . . . According to the settlement, Ridglan will surrender its Wisconsin breeder license by 1 July, meaning it must either sell or surrender any dogs it has bred by then. In exchange, the company will not admit fault or be prosecuted by the state for animal welfare violations.”
“Lindsey Soffes, head of programs at Rise for Animals, a Boston-based animal rights group that has filed several complaints against Ridglan with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says she’s disappointed the company won’t face criminal prosecution. ‘Is this really meaningful accountability, given the massive findings that have been documented?’” 📰 Full Story →
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