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In a tense standoff at a Wisconsin beagle breeding and research facility, approximately 25 protesters were detained as law enforcement officers deployed pepper spray and rubber bullets to manage a crowd of around 1,000 animal welfare activists, officials confirmed on Sunday.
The demonstration on Saturday marked the second attempt in recent months by activists to infiltrate Ridglan Farms, located in Blue Mounds, about 25 miles southwest of Madison. Despite their efforts, the protesters were repelled by authorities, resulting in the arrest of the group’s leader.
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office reported a more subdued scene on Sunday, with about 200 individuals gathering peacefully outside the farm. After roughly two hours, the crowd voluntarily dispersed.
“We commend the group for their cooperation today and their commitment to peaceful protest while still advocating for the welfare of the dogs at Ridglan Farms,” Sheriff Kalvin Barrett stated. “We fully support the right to protest, provided it is conducted within the bounds of the law.”
In a video statement released Saturday, the sheriff described a chaotic scenario where 300 to 400 protesters tried to breach the facility’s defenses, which included a trench filled with manure, hay bales, and a barbed-wire fence.
Some got through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Those arrested included the leader of the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs, Wayne Hsiung, 44, of New York, who was being held on a tentative felony charge of conspiracy to commit burglary. But most arrestees were just booked and released, the sheriff’s office said Sunday.
“No one should be assaulted for giving aid to a dog, even if damage to property is part of that rescue effort,” Hsuing said in a statement from jail Sunday that also accused authorities of using excessive force. “The animals of this Earth are not “things.” They’re sentient beings. And we have the right to rescue them from abuse,” he concluded.
Protesters took 30 dogs when they broke into the facility in March, when authorities arrested 27 people.
Ridglan denies mistreating animals but agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 in a deal to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges.
On its website, the company says “no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.”