By Dan Murphy
Some of you have heard the story about the Ridglan Beagles
Historically, there have been approximately 2,000 beagles kept in cruel conditions at a puppy mill and biomedical facility in Wisconsin called Ridglan Farms. After months of advocacy from across the world by many organizations, approximately 1,500 of them are reportedly at new homes.
Ridglan Farms, Inc. is a biomedical breeding and research company that has been the subject of documented reports of animal cruelty spanning several decades.
They are forced to spend their entire lives inside small metal crates stacked on top of one another.
In January, 2025, a Dane County Judge appointed a special prosecutor, DA Tim Gruenke, to investigate and determine whether to charge Ridglan Farms with animal cruelty—the first of two major wins for local advocacy organizations who had advocated for the appointment of a special prosecutor. The second win came in October, 2025 when Gruenke announced Ridglan agreed to voluntarily relinquish its state license to sell dogs by July 1, 2026 in order to avoid criminal prosecution.
SPCA Westchester took part in Historic Rescue Mission of 1,500 Beagles from the Ridglan Farm Medical Research Breeding Facility. Please consider a Donation for their Care at this link: https://app.etapestry.com/…/SPCAofWestchester/beagles.html
It’s been an emotional week for our SPCA team as we just welcomed 10 of the Ridglan Farm medical research beagles who were released from the facility in Wisconsin earlier this week. After receiving more than 300 citations for animal mistreatment, poor sanitation, and lack of veterinary care, and thanks to animal advocates and celebrities like Ricky Gervais, the breeding mill was finally shut down.
Ridglan Farms agreed to sell 1,500 of the beagles who are now being dispersed to select shelters and rescue groups throughout the country, including SPCA Westchester, who teamed up with BDRR and the Befreegle Foundation.
“This is an incredible nationwide collaborative rescue effort that we are proud to be a part of,” says Shannon Laukhuf, SPCA Westchester’s CEO. “It’s hard to believe that these large-scale breeding facilities are legal and still exist. Once the beagles are sold to laboratories and research centers, the majority, if not all, live in inhumane conditions where they are forced to undergo horrific and painful testing. They are then left to suffer and die or be euthanized.”
The beagles will be available for adoption at the SPCA, but first, they must receive much-needed medical care, rehabilitation, and will be given time to decompress after everything they’ve been through. “We can’t wait to watch each of these beautiful dogs experience many exciting ‘firsts’ — the joy of toys, yummy treats, the freedom to run and play in the grass, gentle belly rubs, and, most importantly, the love and affection they’ve been denied their entire lives. Our rescue team will be working hard to ensure each dog feels safe and is ready to begin their next chapter.”
And a more recent update: Slowly but surely our adorable beagle pack is starting to learn what it’s like to be loved and how to enjoy outdoor playtime. Seeing them lean in for pets and wagging their tails as they explore gives us all the feels 🥰 Thank you to everyone who has supported this incredible rescue and our friends at BDRR and @befreegle_foundation. We’ll post shortly once they’re ready to start meeting potential families!
“It cost millions of dollars to get these dogs out of Ridglan and it will be millions more to give these dogs the care they were denied. I’m going to make sure Ridglan pays back every penny and is held accountable,” says Susan Chana Lask, civil rights and animal rights attorney who plans on filing a suit against Ridglan Farms.
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/SPCAWestchester, or call 914-941-2896.