Pepper Spray, Rubber Bullets Fly as Activists Raid Beagle Research Facility

Police fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into a crowd of roughly 1,000 animal rights activists Saturday as they attempted to storm Ridglan Farms, a beagle breeding and research facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, in the second raid on the property in just over a month, the Wisconsin State Journal first reported.

The confrontation marks a sharp escalation in a years-long battle over the fate of nearly 2,000 beagles kept at the facility, which agreed last year to surrender its state breeding license but continues to operate under a federal research license. Activists, law enforcement, and the facility itself are now on a collision course ahead of Ridglan’s July 1 license expiration - with no dogs successfully seized Saturday and the group’s leader under arrest.

What Happened at Ridglan Farms?

The Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs had publicly announced plans to bring 2,000 people to the facility on Sunday - but launched their operation a day early, mirroring the same tactic used in their March 15 raid, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Activists encountered a fortified perimeter including a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters breached the fence but were unable to enter the facility itself.

Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assaulting officers, blocking roads and ignoring designated protest areas. “This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said. A person who drove a pickup truck through the front gate was arrested, with the sheriff saying the intervention prevented “a potentially deadly outcome.” Coalition leader Wayne Hsiung was also arrested, with his X account posting a photo of him in custody.

A “significant” number of arrests were made from among the roughly 1,000 people present, though an exact total had not been confirmed as of Saturday afternoon.

The History Behind the Raid

Ridglan Farms has been a target of animal rights activists for years.

In March, activists cut through fencing, used sledgehammers and electric saws to breach the facility’s buildings, and removed 30 dogs - 22 of which have since been adopted, while eight were returned to Ridglan by police. Twenty-seven people were arrested on trespassing and other charges. Saturday’s operation produced no dogs.

“I just feel defeated,” activist Julie Vrzeski told the Wisconsin State Journal about three hours into Saturday’s operation.

The facility reached a settlement with state prosecutors in October, agreeing to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges. It continues to hold a federal research license.

According to Ridglan, approximately 90 percent of its research is focused on developing treatments for canine diseases such as rabies and parvovirus.

What Ridglan Says - and What Activists Claim

Ridglan has consistently and forcefully denied mistreating animals, pointing to years of federal inspections by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarians. “No credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated,” the facility states on its website, adding that no court, agency or investigator has ever made a finding of animal cruelty.

The facility says its own unedited footage shows animals that are “happy, healthy and socially housed in comfortable, well-cared for facilities that are regularly cleaned,” and argues activist footage is misleading because it captures animals reacting to strangers, bright lights and cameras. Footage from the March raid released by activists themselves, Ridglan says, shows animals that are “happy, healthy and docile” and “clearly not in any distress or in need of rescue.”

On the broader activist campaign, Ridglan characterizes the coalition as pursuing a sweeping ideological agenda extending well beyond its facility - one that activists have openly described as a first step in a larger plan to target additional farms and federally licensed research labs. A special prosecutor who investigated the facility throughout 2025 found several activist claims to be untrue and determined key expert witnesses “lacked credibility,” according to Ridglan.

Activists counter that the settlement - reached to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges - speaks for itself. A Dane County judge rejected their earlier legal bid to seize the animals through a writ of habeas corpus in February.

What Happens Next

Following Saturday’s failed raid, protesters moved from Ridglan to demonstrate outside the Dane County jail in downtown Madison where those arrested were being held.

Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.

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This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 6:41 PM.