Beagle rescued from Wisconsin lab break-in finds home in Cary

A beagle rescued from the turmoil at Ridglan Farms has landed in Cary, giving Wake County a direct connection to one of the nation’s most contentious animal rescue fights. The adoption follows a sweeping transfer effort that has moved hundreds of dogs out of the Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, breeding and research facility and into rescue pipelines across the country.

Ridglan Farms sits about 25 miles southwest of Madison, where activists have spent years pressing for the beagles to be adopted rather than sold into other research facilities. The pressure escalated sharply in 2026. In March, protesters broke into the property and took 30 dogs, an episode that led to dozens of arrests. In April, police used tear gas and pepper spray to repel a larger group that tried to storm the farm.

The company had already agreed in October 2025 to give up its state breeding license as of July 1, 2026, as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges. A special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms had performed eye procedures that violated Wisconsin veterinary standards. The farm denied mistreating animals and has called the campaign against it years of harassment, while defenders of the rescue effort argue the dogs deserve a life beyond the lab.

Big Dog Ranch Rescue said it reached an agreement for the permanent closure of Ridglan Farms and the transfer of the 475 beagles still left at the facility. Lauree Simmons, the rescue’s founder, said, “Not one dog will remain,” and said the goal is to give the dogs a chance to experience safety and a normal life for the first time.

The rescue previously bought roughly 1,500 of Ridglan Farms’ more than 2,000 beagles in April. Big Dog Ranch Rescue said some of the remaining dogs will go to other rescue groups, while others will travel to its Florida and Alabama campuses to be spayed, neutered, and prepared for adoption. The final transfers are expected to continue into August.

The Dane County Humane Society said it has served as the staging facility for the releases, handling initial veterinary exams, vaccinations, and microchips. It said 1,635 beagles had been released in the May and June transfer efforts.

Beagles are commonly used in animal testing because of their smaller size and gentle temperament, which is one reason the breed has become a flashpoint in the broader fight over laboratory animals. The Cary adoption shows how that struggle can end far from Wisconsin, in a Wake County home where one rescued dog is no longer part of a research inventory but part of a family.