Protesters urge Gov. Evers to intervene in beagle rescue at Dane County farm
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Protesters gathered outside the governor’s office until about 3:30 p.m., waiting for confirmation that he would meet with them to discuss freeing the beagles from Ridglan Farms. They also came to share their concerns about how they were treated over the weekend when they tried to take the dogs from the facility.
Videos circulating online show protesters attempting to rescue the Ridglan Farms beagles. This effort has been driven by the online community. People from across the country came to Wisconsin to try and free the beagles. According to the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs, the animals are subjected to chemical testing and kept in cages all day, which is why the group wants the state to intervene.
“Attorney General Kaul could serve a search warrant on Ridglan at any time. We know that the conditions inside Ridglan have already been found by a judge in Wisconsin to constitute at least probable cause for criminal animal cruelty, if not definite felony criminal animal cruelty,” Aiden Kankyoku, with the Coalition to save the Ridglan Dogs, said.
Protesters also raised concerns about how they were treated Saturday, claiming they were brutalized while demonstrating at the Ridglan Farms facility. One woman said she was shoved to the ground by police, resulting in a concussion and visible injuries to her face.
“Right away they had cars full of tear gas,” Daniella Tissier, a protester from Maine who got a concussion and face injury during Saturday’s protest, said. “The pepper spray started almost immediately. There were no conversations or negotiations at all; they just went at us.”
During the protest Saturday, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office posted updates on its Facebook page.
“They have break-in tools, they are cutting through the fence, they have breached through with a vehicle and drove around the property. They have ladders to get up and over the fences, as well as break-in tools,” Sheriff Kalvin Barrett, of Dane County, said. “We gave warnings verbally and have signs clearly identifying where they can peacefully protest. They have ignored those signs.”
Despite the confrontation, protesters like Tissier said they would take the same actions again, and hope the governor responds to their request.
“They need to pay attention because this is not going to go away. It's not going to go away until the state does the right thing,” Tissier said. “Release the dogs.”
Ridglan Farms maintains it is not doing anything wrong or illegal. The state of Wisconsin filed a charge against the facility Monday, but it was related to constructing or altering a manure storage facility without a permit.
Protesters interviewed said they believed they had a right to enter the facility and remove the dogs because of what they described as inhumane living conditions.
A request for comment was sent to the governor’s office regarding the protesters’ demands, but no response had been received as of publication.