Skip to main content
institutional access

You are connecting from
Lake Geneva Public Library,
please login or register to take advantage of your institution's Ground News Plan.

Published loading...Updated

Hundreds trying to storm Wisconsin beagle research facility met with rubber bullets and pepper spray

Police used tear gas and rubber bullets as activists tried to remove about 2,000 beagles from the facility, and Wayne Hsiung was arrested.

  • On Saturday, hundreds of animal activists attempted to storm Ridglan Farms beagle-breeding facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, fast-tracking a raid originally planned for Sunday; an activist rammed a pickup truck through the front gate at about 10 a.m., nearly hitting police before arrest.
  • Ridglan Farms has operated for nearly 60 years breeding thousands of beagles for laboratory sale; last year, a special prosecutor found the facility violated veterinary standards after dogs underwent eye operations without general anesthesia, prompting the agreement to surrender its state breeding license by July 1.
  • Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett reported between 300 and 400 protesters were 'violently trying to break into the property' and attempting to 'assault' officers; police deployed tear gas and pepper spray against the crowd of about 1,000 protesters, making a significant number of arrests.
  • No dogs were removed from the facility by 2 p.m. on April 18; at least a dozen activists, including Organizer Wayne Hsiung, were arrested, and activists later protested outside the downtown Madison jail, with one describing the operation as 'intensely dramatic and traumatic.'
  • Matt Johnson, spokesperson for the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs, said anonymous donors offered $1 million to purchase all 2,000 dogs; this was the second attempt in as many months, with 70 criminal charges referred for 63 people from the March break-in.
Insights by Ground AI
Podcasts & Opinions

170 Articles

Think freely.Subscribe and get full access to Ground NewsSubscriptions start at $9.99/yearSubscribe

Bias Distribution

  • 63% of the sources are Center
63% Center

Factuality Info Icon

To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium

Ownership

Info Icon

To view ownership data please Upgrade to Vantage

Journal Sentinel broke the news in Milwaukee, United States on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
Too Big Arrow Icon
Sources are mostly out of (0)

Similar News Topics

News
Feed Dots Icon
For You
Search Icon
Search
Blindspot LogoBlindspotLocal