April 19, 2026 — About 1,000 animal-welfare activists who tried to enter Ridglan Farms, a beagle breeding and research facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, were driven back Saturday by law enforcement officers who used rubber bullets and pepper spray and arrested the group’s leader.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that between 300 and 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers, that they ignored designated protest areas and blocked roads, and that the action was not peaceful. The sheriff’s office described a “significant” number of arrests but did not provide an exact total as processing continued into the afternoon.
Organizers from the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs had publicized plans to seize dogs from the facility, which is roughly 25 miles southwest of Madison and reportedly houses about 2,000 beagles. The group said it planned an action for Sunday but began the operation a day early; its leader, Wayne Hsiung, posted a photograph on X showing his arrest. Protesters later moved to demonstrate outside the county jail in downtown Madison.
Authorities said demonstrators attempted to breach a series of barricades around the farm that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and barbed wire. Some people made it through fencing but were unable to reach the buildings. Police also arrested a person they said had recklessly driven a pickup through the farm’s front gate, an action the sheriff’s office said “prevent[ed] a potentially deadly outcome.”
Saturday’s action was the second attempt in two months. On March 15, activists broke into the facility; charges related to that incident were referred by the sheriff’s office for 63 people. Ridglan Farms denies mistreating animals. In October the farm agreed to surrender its state breeding license effective July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on animal-mistreatment charges. Ridglan’s website says, “no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.”
The situation remains a point of contention between animal-welfare advocates determined to remove dogs from research facilities and local authorities stressing public-safety and legal concerns. Processing of arrested protesters continued into the evening.