Much like the infamous Marshall BioResources, Ridglan Farms is a mega-breeder of beagles who are sold off to be used in research and testing.
The Wisconsin company, long condemned by animal rights activists for its unethical practices, is currently under mounting scrutiny from the media and the general public.
After activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DXE) illegally entered Ridglan and saved three beagles in an open rescue in 2017, Ridglan pressed criminal charges. However — perhaps due to the intense and increasing attention from the public — the charges were dropped earlier this year.
Wayne Hsiung, animal cruelty investigator and attorney, was among the activists who breached Ridglan and removed three dogs from its hellish midst. Inside, he and the other rescuers witnessed hundreds of dogs living in cages so small that the dogs could only turn around. The animals’ frantic barks and whimpers created a cacophony so deafening the rescuers couldn’t hear one another. They documented the facility in videos and photos, and managed to get three lucky beagles out and to safety.
Based on the atrocities uncovered inside Ridglan, Hsiung and local groups Dane4Dogs (represented by the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project) and the Alliance for Animals have petitioned for a Special Prosecutor to be appointed to investigate Ridglan and press charges related to animal cruelty.
On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, Judge Rhonda Lanford oversaw a hearing outlining evidence that Ridglan has broken state animal cruelty laws, warranting a Special Prosecutor’s investigation and prosecution. Six witnesses took the stand.
Below, read some excerpts from the witnesses’ harrowing testimonies, and see photographs from inside Ridglan, captured by DXE during their 2017 rescue mission. Then, take action.
Upon first entering Ridglan in 2017:
“There are a couple things that shocked even me. . . . I had [already] done a few dozen animal cruelty investigations across the nation and, in some cases, the world. And I had never been, I think, ever in my life in a facility so loud . . . It was so deafening. The other thing I noted was just the fact that the animals were in fact confined in cages . . . Each of these cages was approximately two feet by four feet.”
— Wayne Hsiung, Animal Cruelty Investigator, Attorney
On whether housing dogs alone in 2’x4’ cages is standard, even within the breeding industry:
“No. In fact, Ridglan[‘s] housing is significantly smaller than Envigo[‘s], another laboratory animal facility that was actually shut down because of their animal welfare practices. And compared to the canine housing at Envigo, Ridglan’s cages are quite a bit smaller. And in addition to that, the prevalence of single-housed dogs is pretty high at Ridglan, and you didn’t really see that at Envigo.”
— Dr. Sherstin Rosenberg, veterinarian, Executive Director at Happy Hen Animal Sanctuary, expert witness
On how the dogs inside Ridglan were acting:
“[I witnessed dogs with] behavioral issues that were . . . not just distress, but what I would describe as psychosis.”
— Wayne Hsiung, Animal Cruelty Investigator, Attorney
On the flooring of the dogs’ cages:
“[The flooring] was metal covered in some sort of plastic. . . . It would break open at times, the metal would be exposed, sometimes rust . . . sharp edges.”
— Matthew Reich, former Ridglan employee
On whether the dogs experienced foot injuries due to the cage flooring:
“[I saw dogs experiencing foot issues] all the time. . . The adult ones would get these . . . almost like a sore on the top of their foot, in between the toes, and it would spread their toes apart. I had seen [sores] roughly the size of a golf ball. Sometimes they would vary in size, but it was very common to see that.”
— Matthew Reich, former Ridglan employee
Were the dogs ever taken on walks?
“No.”
Did they ever go outside?
“No.”
Were they ever let out of the cages at all?
“Only to be moved to the back portion [of Ridglan] where they’d be shipped out [to research facilities].”
So they were only ever allowed to be moved from one cage to a different cage?
“Correct.”
— Scott Gilbertson, former Ridglan employee
On one of multiple instances when he found a dead dog while working at Ridglan:
“There was [a dead dog] and it was lying on its side. It was obviously dead but I couldn’t see at the time what was the injury or what caused [its death]. The rest of the dogs that were in the cage were kind of grouped in the corner. And then I was supposed to put [any dead dog] in some type of bag . . . and I was supposed to put them in a freezer. . . . As I went to go grab [the deceased dog], my hand went into its chest cavity which was . . . totally eaten away by the other dogs, because there were ribs missing, there were organs missing. . . . I don’t really remember what happened after that. I kind of collapsed to the floor and had an anxiety panic attack.”
— Matthew Reich, former Ridglan employee
On his participation in cherry-eye surgeries:
“Yes [I participated in cherry-eye surgeries at Ridglan]. . . . Basically there would be a gland that would pop up on the lower part of the [dog’s] eye, and on occasion it would be a little slit, they could barely see. . . . I would hold the body of the dog in my right arm and . . . close my hand around the snout [to avoid their biting], because literally all [the staff] did was take tweezers, pull [the eyelid] out, take the scissors, and cut it. And that was the extent of the ‘surgery.’ That was pretty common. That’s how they always dealt with it. . . . It was shocking, the first time I had to participate in that.”
— Matthew Reich, former Ridglan employee
On whether anesthesia, pain medications, and blood-loss control were administered to the dogs before these cherry-eye surgeries:
“No, [none of these], not that I saw. It would bleed profusely for several minutes — sometimes [blood] would start pouring out of my hand. . . . [Another dog] would often lick the blood off of them. It was a very graphic scene.”
— Matthew Reich, former Ridglan employee
On the method in which a Ridglan employee described cutting cherry-eye from dogs at Ridglan:
“To just go ahead and cut off a piece of the eye without preventing any kind of pain . . . definitely causes suffering. . . . To not use haemostasis [surgical blood loss prevention techniques] would cause excessive [and] unnecessary blood loss for the dog, and could even possibly lead to death. . . . I would consider [cherry eye removal surgery as done at Ridglan to be mutilation] because it’s being done by a non-veterinarian and it is causing harm to the dogs . . . and without anesthesia, it’s definitely mutilation.”
— Dr. Sherstin Rosenberg, veterinarian, Executive Director at Happy Hen Animal Sanctuary, expert witness
On his participation in devocalization [vocal cord-cutting] surgeries:
“I would hold the dogs [during devocalization surgeries]. . . . Basically, [Ridglan staff members] would go through and do 30 to 40 [devocalization surgeries] at a time. . . . They would start at the beginning of a cage, and give [to the dogs] what I think was some sort of a paralytic type agent that would render [the dogs] immobile — they seemed to be awake but they couldn’t move. . . . I would hold the dogs, and between [Ridglan staff] Jim and Al, one would hold the flashlight and some sort of [device] to keep the [dog’s] mouth open, and then they would just reach down the throat with the scissors and cut the vocal cords, and throw it on the floor to be washed down the drain later.”
— Matthew Reich, former Ridglan employee
On the method in which a Ridglan employee described devocalizing dogs:
“[It] is mutilation. . . . A dog needs their vocal cords both to communicate but even, actually more importantly . . . to protect their airway. Animals that have devocalization surgery often go on to suffer from aspiration and even die.”
— Dr. Sherstin Rosenberg, veterinarian, Executive Director at Happy Hen Animal Sanctuary, expert witness
On whether the dogs at Ridglan are receiving minimum care mandated by the state of Wisconsin:
“No. . . . I do not believe these animals, from a behavioral standpoint, are given adequate outlets for their energy. I believe they are traumatized. I believe they are housed poorly — that includes the [cage] footing, that includes the stench and filth and the ventilation and the noise. I believe they are suffering immeasurably, physically and mentally. I have not seen in any of my study of this situation [happening at Ridglan] any evidence of veterinary care. . .”
— Dr. Lowell Wickman, veterinarian, expert witness
“As a veterinarian, I am deeply disturbed by what happens at Ridglan Farms.”
— Dr. Lowell Wickman, veterinarian, expert witness
On why he, a former Ridglan employee, chose to testify in court:
“The main reason [I testified today] was it’s the right thing to do. This kind of thing has been going on [at Ridglan] specifically for 60 years and this, just, I feel with the technology we have now, there’s got to be a better way . . . not using [dogs] for research purposes. And honestly it’s been almost 20 years now since I took the job. It still haunts me every day. I’ve honestly had to [testify] for myself, as well as giving the dogs a voice. But I needed it for myself . . . to try to move on from what I saw. And I’m embarrassed that I participated in these things, but it was just a job at the time, and I was trying to make ends meet. I just wanted to try to give back to those animals that I saw suffer, and possibly prevent others from going through the same.”
— Matthew Reich, former Ridglan employee
After a long day of testimony, Dane County Judge Rhonda Lanford decided to move the case forward to a post-trial briefing.
Judge Lanford gave the petitioners until November 8, 2024 to file their post-hearing brief, which is to outline the criminal charges sought against Ridglan and the evidence to support those charges.
On her ruling to appoint a Special Prosecutor:
“I promise you, I will make a prompt decision.”
— Judge Rhonda Lanford
As we wait to find out whether Dane County will appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute Ridglan, we join with the brave activists leading this charge in asking for your support: please contact Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and encourage him to take action in honor of Ridglan’s past victims and in protection of Ridglan’s present and future victims.
These are the real, horrendous stories of the dogs at Ridglan Farms. To inspire others to learn the truth and take action, share this page on Facebook or X now.