A confrontation between law enforcement and roughly 1,000 animal rights activists turned violent Saturday at a beagle breeding facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, as officers deployed pepper spray and rubber bullets to repel protesters attempting to breach the property.
The clash at Ridglan Farms marked the second major action by activists seeking to remove dogs from the facility. In March, protesters successfully extracted 13 beagles and faced charges including burglary and trespassing. The Dane County Sheriff's Office has referred charges against 62 people from that raid to the district attorney.
Organizers from the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs had originally planned the operation for Sunday but moved forward a day early. Wayne Hsiung, the group's leader, posted photos of his arrest at the scene. A protester driving a pickup truck through the front gate was also arrested, which Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said "prevented a potentially deadly outcome."
Activists approached the facility with an array of makeshift barriers to overcome: a manure-filled trench, hay bales, and barbed-wire fencing. Some managed to breach the outer perimeter but could not access the main facility where approximately 2,000 beagles are housed.
"This is not a peaceful protest," Barrett said in a video statement, describing protesters as "violently trying to break into the property" and assault officers. He noted that demonstrators had ignored designated protest areas and blocked roads that could have prevented emergency vehicles from entering the site.
The sheriff's office confirmed that a "significant" number of arrests were made but did not release a specific total Saturday afternoon, citing ongoing processing.
The dispute centers on allegations of animal mistreatment at the facility. Animal rights groups accuse Ridglan Farms of abuse and neglect, claims the operation flatly rejects. "No credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated," the facility stated on its website.
By midday Saturday, activists had not successfully removed any dogs. The disappointment weighed on participants. "I just feel defeated," activist Julie Vrzeski told reporters roughly three hours into the operation.
Hsiung, writing from custody in a Substack post, acknowledged the failure but vowed continued action. "As I sit in a jail cell, I am feeling a mix of shock from the sudden escalation of violence and guilt for the failure to protect the people I love," he wrote. He argued that public sympathy would eventually shift in the protesters' favor as word spread about "armed men attacking grandmas desperately trying to save dogs."
Later Saturday, activists pivoted to protesting outside the Dane County jail in downtown Madison.
Author James Rodriguez: "Pepper spray and rubber bullets at a beagle facility is an extraordinary scene, and both sides are dug in for a long fight."
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