Complete coverage: Ridglan Farms beagle controversy

The rally comes two days after hundreds of people descended on Ridglan Farms in the town of Blue Mounds in an attempt to free the approximately 1,900 beagles kept there.

Animal welfare activists converged outside of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ Capitol office on Monday, chanting “Free the dogs!” and demanding that the governor and attorney general do what they can to shut down a beagle breeding and research facility where many of the protesters clashed with police two days earlier. An estimated 1,000 activists from around the country came to Ridglan Farms in an attempt Saturday to free an estimated 2,000 beagles kept there. Police repelled them with tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. Many of those who were at the facility returned to the Capitol on Monday to demand that Evers take action. Ridglan has denied mistreating animals.

The facility has just more than 1,900 beagles. Fewer than 200 of these are used in Ridglan’s research, mostly to develop treatments for diseases dogs contract.

RIDGLAN FARMS| BEAGLE BREEDING AND RESEARCH FACILITY

Authorities say around 25 protesters were arrested as about 1,000 animal welfare activists tried to enter a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin. The protest on Saturday was the second attempt in two months to take beagles from Ridglan Farms. Officers fired rubber bullets and pepper spray to disperse the crowd. The Dane County sheriff's office reported a calmer protest on Sunday with around 200 people. Protesters previously took 30 dogs in March. Ridglan denies mistreating animals but agreed to give up its state breeding license by July 1 to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges.

About 1,000 animal welfare protesters who tried to gain entry to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin have been turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader. It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles southwest of the capital city of Madison. Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett, in a video statement, said between 300 and 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers on Saturday.

Several board members said they supported the goal of removing dogs from Ridglan, but only Ritt and Rose voiced support for the group breaking the law.

A group called the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs is gearing up to bring 2,000 people to Ridglan Farms on Sunday to take the roughly 1,900 beagles there.

For many, the break-in at Ridglan farm was shocking, not only about the incident itself but that dogs are being used in medical research at all.

Animal rights activists are trying to take custody of some 2,000 beagles held at a town of Blue Mounds breeding and research operation.

In October, Ridglan agreed to give up its state breeding license as of July 1, but it still has a federal license.

The decision comes nearly three months after an attorney for the activists said Ridglan Farms agreed to stop breeding beagles to sell for research purposes by July 1.

Ridglan has until July 1 to stop its dog breeding operation but is still allowed to run its dog research facility

Ridglan and Dane4Dogs, in cooperation with other animal activist groups, are engaged in a long-running battle that includes dueling actions in Dane County Circuit Court.

In January, Dane4Dogs was able to convince Dane County Judge Rhonda Lanford to appoint a special prosecutor to look into the allegations against Ridglan.

Once he's done, Tim Gruenke will have the option of filing charges under state law, but he is not obligated to do so.

Dogs subjected to an eye procedure often bled profusely, Lanford writes, and according to testimony "'would be thrashing around in pain, often yelping, crying out.'"

The case concerned a 2017 break-in at Ridglan Farms, where three dogs were taken. Activists said the dogs were "rescued."