Cruel Beagle-Breeding Factory Ridglan Should Be Investigated: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
October 24, 2024

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo in support of Direct Action Everywhere’s effort to urge Dane County Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Lanford in Madison, Wisconsin, to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the cruel treatment of dogs at Ridglan Farms, which breeds beagles to be sold into experimentation:

The appalling conditions for beagles imprisoned at Ridglan Farms resemble those at the now-closed Envigo beagle-breeding factory, where a PETA investigation led to the first-ever federal conviction of a supplier of animals for experiments, more than $35 million in penalties, and the rescue of 4,000 dogs. Now that Judge Lanford has heard the shocking testimony, including that of a former employee who said that staff cut off swollen eyelid glands (a condition known as “cherry eye”) with a pair of scissors—and without using anesthesia or a painkiller—the judge should quickly appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Ridglan and file charges as appropriate.

In an era of rapid technological innovation, tormenting dogs in experimentation is a cruel failure. A whopping 95% of new drugs shown to be safe and effective in animals fail in human trials. Effective non-animal research methods—organs-on-chips, in vitro technology, human-patient simulators, and computer modeling— are cheaper, faster, and more accurate.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.