Animal activists swarmed a Wisconsin animal research facility on Saturday in an attempt to free 2,000 beagles from experimentation that continues under the Trump administration.
On Saturday morning, around 1,000 animal rights activists descended upon Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, hoping to free 2,000 beagles from Ridglan Farms—a USDA Class A dog breeder, and USDA-licensed research facility that has come under scrutiny in recent years over its experiments involving beagles.
Dozens of activists were arrested as the Dane County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and partnering law enforcement agencies used pepper-spray and rubber bullets to prevent the activists from breaching the facility’s fences. Police also deployed a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), sometimes called a sound cannon, against the protesters.
Images and videos of protesters being pepper-sprayed and thrown to the ground while attempting to cut fences to remove the beagles went viral across social media over the weekend.
Waves of tear gas: Peaceful animal lovers are being tear gassed, pepper sprayed, and fired at with rubber bullets at Ridglan Farms. At least a dozen activists have been arrested. Hundreds of others are on the property now trying to rescue the dogs. pic.twitter.com/7JYg8S2XhP
— Wayne Hsiung (@waynehhsiung) April 18, 2026
Wayne Hsiung, co-founder of Direct Action Everywhere and the organizer of the Ridglan Farms action, was arrested shortly after arriving on the scene. Hsiung, who is also an attorney, was attempting to serve Ridglan with a lawsuit when he was arrested by DCSO deputies.
Animal rights activist Jamie Logan, who was at Ridglan Farms that morning, described the scene as “the best and the worst of humanity.”
“I saw compassion met with extreme violence—peaceful protesters met with tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets,” Logan wrote on Instagram. “I saw people show up with courage, love, and nothing but a commitment to peaceful change for the puppies at Ridglan Farms who are criminally abused.”
PERCEPTION RESET 