BREAKING: Ridglan Farms, second largest beagle breeder facility in the USA, signed an agreement promising to surrender its breeding license for good by 1st July 2026. This will avoid charges against animal cruelty being pressed against Ridglan. Until then, this 60 year old breeder will continue to sell beagles to their existing customers.
@dane4dogs, an animal rights group supporting the investigation against Ridglan, stated they will continue to fight for dogs still stuck in those cages.
“This decision today is a huge step in the right direction. But we’re not done. This isn’t over. This is just one piece. This is just one aspect in a much larger campaign.”
The dogs still left at Ridglan Farms by July 2026 will be surrendered and rehomed.
Further Information
October 28, 2025, USA – Today, a special prosecutor investigating embattled beagle experimentation breeder Ridglan Farms for animal cruelty announced that the puppy mill will close the portion of its facility that breeds beagles to sell them for research. The announcement comes in response to the special prosecutor seeking to charge Ridglan with felony animal cruelty, following years of documented mutilations and other abuse at the facility. Ridglan is the second large breeder of beagles for experimentation to close in less than five years. In 2024, Ridglan’s then-competitor Envigo pleaded guilty to violating the Animal Welfare Act after having closed its beagle breeding facility in 2022 due to extensive animal welfare violations. Only one other large breeder of beagles for experimentation exists.
“Good riddance! This is a 60-year-old business that is finally coming to an end, and we’re so glad to have reached this milestone. Rescue organizations stand ready to help place the dogs in loving homes, and we’ll continue to use every option available to us to obtain the release of the dogs,” said Rebekah Robinson, President of Dane4Dogs.
With the closure of Ridglan’s breeding facility, only Marshall Farms, in upstate New York, remains as a large breeder of beagles for experimentation. Marshall Farms holds approximately 18,000 dogs. Animal advocates say Ridglan and Envigo are representative examples of what dogs in the experimentation industry endure, even before they arrive at labs to be experimented on.
“We are thrilled that this hell hole will be shuttered, and we hope this is merely the next domino to fall on the way to ending all experiments on dogs. However, it is unacceptable that the stipulation allows Ridglan to continue to sell dogs until July. Those dogs should be released immediately,” said Steffen Seitz, litigation fellow at the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, which represented Dane4Dogs in the special prosecutor petition.