Hundreds of beagles rescued from a Wisconsin research lab arrived at Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Loxahatchee Groves in Florida on Saturday night and will soon be available for adoption, the rescue posted on Facebook on Sunday.
The dogs had been housed at Ridglan Farms, which breeds beagles for biomedical research. Last year, a judge found probable cause that animal cruelty violations had occurred at the Blue Mounds, Wis., facility, which focuses on veterinary medicine and cures for illnesses such as rabies, heartworm and distemper.
Animal rights activists broke into the farm in March and removed 22 beagles, although eight were returned by law enforcement. In April, hundreds of protesters came back and were confronted by police.
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy reached an agreement with Ridglan last week to buy 1,500 of the farm’s beagles.
“Because of your prayers and generous donations, we have been able to transport 300 of these precious beagles here to begin their new journey in life. While this is a major milestone, the road ahead is still a long one,” the rescue posted.
Beagles are a frequent subject of animal testing because of their manageable size and compliant personalities, according to the Beagle Freedom Project, which has been helping to coordinate the rescue.
“Beagles are the number one breed of choice for testing because of their friendly and docile nature,” the project reported. “The same characteristics that make them incredible companions and family members are why they are exploited by the animal testing industry.”
Big Dog Ranch, which also has a facility in Alabama, has experience with major extrication operations, including saving dogs from the Asian meat trade and hurricanes and setting up a shelter in Ukraine in 2022. The Loxahatchee Groves sanctuary is on a 33-acre site in western Palm Beach County and calls itself the “largest, cage-free, no-kill dog rescue in the U.S.”
The newly arrived beagles will undergo spay/neuter procedures, vaccinations and microchipping before becoming available for adoption.
Seven hundred additional beagles are expected at the ranch but no arrival date has been announced. The Center for a Humane Economy said it will coordinate placement of the remaining 500. Wayne Pacelle, the center’s president, said the effort represents “one of the largest transfers of dogs from the research supply system ever undertaken.”
He said a three-year-old law passed by Congress removed a mandate that new drugs be researched on animals before moving on to human trials.
“As the demand for animal testing begins to decline, the infrastructure of institutionalized exploitation built around it — laboratory breeding facilities, contract testing labs, animal smugglers — is fraying,” Pacelle wrote. “And in some cases, it’s being dismantled and the contract labs and breeding facilities depopulated.”
Big Dog Ranch is collecting donations of dog food bowls and financial contributions. For more information, go to bdrr.org/beagle-fund.
