Organizers of the operation that freed nearly 2,200 beagles credit the Trump administration for critical help and for new efforts targeting animal cruelty.
LOXAHATCHEE GROVES, Fla.—A dozen tan-black-and-white beagles romp and sniff inquisitively, tails wagging, paws padding over pristine artificial turf, noses exploring every inch of a shade-covered play yard.
Before May, these dogs and nearly 2,200 like them knew only the inside of stacked metal cages at a Wisconsin facility producing puppies for research labs.
The beagles—a breed developed for hunting and known as gentle, loyal pets—never experienced sunshine, never felt grass under their soft paws. The unusually docile dogs are used in research because of their consistently sweet temperament, even when experiencing “torture,” experts told The Epoch Times.
But life is changing for them now.
Before the operation to free them, the beagles of Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, walked and slept on wire mesh. They produced litter after litter of puppies, bound not for outside adventures and homes filled with love, but for research facility cages to be used in medical testing.
All of that changed shortly after years of escalating protests by hundreds of animal activists at the puppy farm turned violent in March and April.
In June, the facility promised to shut down its 60-year breeding program by July 1, 2026, and agreed to release the dogs to rescues for rehoming.
The negotiation involved critical pressure applied by the Trump administration’s newly formed animal cruelty task force, said Evan Nader of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, the beagle operation’s lead organizer.
The task force is led by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“No one’s done more for dog welfare than the Trump administration,” Nader said. “But there’s still more work to be done.”
After those negotiations, puppy supplier Ridglan Farms agreed to give up its state-issued breeding license. As of July 13, the facility still advertised “purpose bred beagles for biomedical research” on its website.
Ridglan Farms did not respond to requests from The Epoch Times for comment. The company website states that “no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.”
In 2025, a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms was performing eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards.
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