Target: Josh Kaul, Attorney General of Wisconsin
Goal: Accelerate the release of approximately 2,000 beagles at facility accused of performing surgeries on dogs without anesthesia and leaving wounds untreated.
A state judge found that Ridglan Farms likely broke Wisconsin animal cruelty laws by housing beagles in brutal conditions, performing surgeries without anesthesia, and leaving wounds untreated. The facility agreed to surrender its state breeding license effective July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges — a deal that has allowed approximately 2,000 beagles to remain confined at the facility for months longer. The situation has now erupted into a national flashpoint, with an estimated 1,000 animal welfare activists descending on the facility over the weekend of April 18, prompting law enforcement to deploy tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray against protesters who included teachers, veterinarians, and students. Twenty-five people were arrested.
The activists’ desperation reflects the urgency that many feel about the fate of 2,000 dogs who, according to a state court’s findings, were kept in brutal conditions, subjected to surgical procedures without anesthesia, and had wounds reportedly left untreated. That a judge found the facility likely violated Wisconsin’s animal cruelty laws — and yet those dogs remain confined there for months more under a negotiated deal — represents a profound failure of the legal system’s obligation to protect vulnerable animals from ongoing, documented harm.
The Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office has the authority and the responsibility to act with urgency on behalf of these animals. Sign this petition to demand immediate enforcement of Wisconsin’s animal cruelty laws and the accelerated release and rehoming of all dogs at this facility.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear AG Kaul,
We are writing to urge your office to take immediate and comprehensive legal action to protect approximately 2,000 beagles held at Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin — a facility that a state judge found likely violated Wisconsin’s animal cruelty laws by housing dogs in brutal conditions, performing surgeries without anesthesia, and leaving wounds untreated. The facility agreed to surrender its state breeding license effective July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution. We respectfully but firmly submit that this deal has left approximately 2,000 dogs in a facility that a court found likely violated cruelty laws, for months longer than justice for these animals requires.
The events of this past weekend — in which an estimated 1,000 citizens, including teachers, veterinarians, and students, traveled from across the country in an act of desperation to attempt to remove these dogs from the facility — demonstrate the profound and widespread moral urgency that the public feels about the fate of these animals. Twenty-five people were arrested. Scores were injured by tear gas and rubber bullets. This is a community telling the legal system that it has not done enough.
We respectfully but firmly demand that your office use every available legal authority to enforce Wisconsin’s animal cruelty laws against Ridglan Farms, seek the earliest possible release and rehoming of all dogs currently held at the facility, and ensure that those responsible for the conditions a state judge reportedly found likely constituted animal cruelty face full criminal accountability. These dogs have reportedly suffered long enough.
Sincerel]y,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Alan Shearman
