For decades, thousands of beagles lived out their lives behind the fences of Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. Now the facility, long criticized for its treatment of dogs bred for biomedical research, has agreed to surrender the state license that allowed it to sell beagles to laboratories across the country.

The announcement followed a special prosecutor’s investigation into allegations of animal cruelty, a process sparked by years of pressure from animal advocacy groups. According to Channel 3000, the breeding-for-sale portion of Ridglan must shut down by July 1, 2026.

Ridglan will continue operating its on-site research facility, but the era of mass breeding for outside buyers is ending.

Ridglan Farms is shutting down its dog-breeding-for-sale operation.

Inside a System Built on Docile, Trusting Dogs

Ridglan has supplied researchers since 1966. Beagles were the breed of choice not because they are suited to research, but because people bred them to be gentle and compliant. As one advocate told Wisconsin Public Radio, a beagle “will still come back to you” even after being hurt.

That trait made them ideal for toxicity tests and invasive procedures. Former employees later testified that dogs at Ridglan underwent cherry-eye surgeries and vocal-cord removal without proper anesthesia, as reported by Vox. Some were kept in windowless sheds, pacing in cramped wire cages stacked in long rows.

Animal advocates pushed for a criminal case, leading a Dane County judge to appoint a special prosecutor earlier this year. That investigation found evidence that non-veterinarians had performed surgical procedures without pain relief, a violation of veterinary standards noted by FOX6 News.

The facility still plans to sell 2,500 beagles to research labs.

A Deal That Stops Short of Full Accountability

Special Prosecutor Tim Gruenke ultimately concluded that closing the breeding business would protect more dogs in the long run than pursuing felony charges. Ridglan agreed to give up its breeding license in exchange for the state dropping the possibility of prosecution.

The decision disappointed many advocates, who argued that surrendering the license still allows Ridglan to sell the dogs it already has. Estimates suggest there are between 2,500 and 3,000 beagles inside the facility today. Under the agreement, Ridglan may continue selling them to its customers until the deadline.

Advocacy groups want the dogs adopted into homes, not sent into labs.

“We’re not done,” the president of Dane4Dogs told FOX6 News. “This is one piece in a much larger campaign.”

Dogs were allegedly kept in cramped wire cages for years.

The Dogs at the Center of the Fight

As Ridglan winds down its sales operation, questions remain about what will happen to the remaining beagles. The facility says its dogs are healthy, well cared for, and “purposefully bred” for research that benefits both human and veterinary medicine, according to statements shared with WPR.

But advocates counter that years of documented suffering inside the facility make it urgent to remove these dogs from the research pipeline altogether.

A Turning Point for Research Breeding

Once Ridglan stops selling dogs, only one large commercial breeder of beagles for research — Marshall Farms in New York — will remain in the United States, according to Vox.

This shift reflects a broader reckoning with a system that treats companion animals as disposable research tools. For the beagles who spent their lives in Ridglan’s sheds, the hope now is simple: that the next chapter involves grass, sunlight, and families waiting on the other side of the fence.

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