The first beagles removed from a dog breeding and research facility in Wisconsin that was the scene of recent protests seemed to immediately realize that They were safe.
“Within an hour or so they started approaching us, looking for attention,” commented this Sunday Lauree Simmons, president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue. «Some climbed onto people’s laps. Each and every one of them they are super sweet. I think they love the attention. “I just know that they know they are safe.”
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy negotiated a confidential agreement to purchase (for an undisclosed price) the 1,500 dogs a Ridglan Farmswhere police used tear gas to disperse activists trying to remove beagles from the facility last month. Protesters also broke into the facility in March and took 30 dogs. Police headquarters referred 63 people to the district attorney for possible charges related to that break-in.
Talks to purchase the animals began months before the April altercation, and Simmons said his group was not linked to the protests. Now, Big Dog Ranch Rescue works with partners across the country to find homes for 1,000 of the dogs, and the Center for a Humane Economy will take care of the rest.
Simmons explained that his group has received more than 700 adoption applicationsbut it could be some time before the hounds are ready for their new homes. The organization screens potential adopters, moves the animals to shelters across the country and makes sure the beagles are trained to do your needs at home.
The first 300 dogs were taken from Ridglan on Friday, and more are planned to be picked up over the next week. Animal protection groups have set up a staging area with playgrounds in Wisconsin, where dogs are being vaccinated, they are microchippedare sterilized and prepared for transfer, Simmons explained. Big Dog Ranch Rescue has already begun moving dogs to its headquarters in western Palm Beach County, Florida.
«Younger dogs will adapt faster, and older dogs will need time. Many of them are more willing to accept affection and want to be with people,» Simmons noted.
The most docile and sweet breed
Beagles are the most common dog breed used for animal testingmainly due to its smaller size and docile temperament, Simmons said.
“A Belgian Malinois is not going to tolerate being tested, being kept confined in a cage its entire life,” Simmons said of the athletic Belgian Malinois dogs commonly used by police and the military. «Beagles are so trusting, docile, calm and forgiving that they are the most chosen dogs for animal testing. And then we are going to take one of the sweetest, kindest and most trusting breeds and abuse them? This is wrong. This has to stop.»
Ridglan Farms agreed in October to give up her state breeding license effective July 1 as part of a deal to avoid being prosecuted on serious animal abuse charges. The company has denied mistreating the animals, but a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms performed eye procedures that violated state veterinary regulations.
About 1,000 activists from all over the country attended Ridglan Farms in the rural village of Blue Mounds, about 25 miles southwest of Madison, on April 18 in an attempt to take the beagles. They met the police, who used tear gas and rubber bullets. Dane County police reported 29 people were arrested and five are facing felony burglary charges.
Activists have filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin alleging police used unnecessary force. Ridglan has said that those who tried to break in were a “violent mob” that launched “an assault on a federally licensed research facility.”
AP Agency.
GML
