A Historic Win for the Dogs: Ridglan Farms to Close Its Doors
After more than 60 years of breeding and selling dogs for research, Ridglan Farms - the largest puppy mill of its kind in Wisconsin - will finally shut down its breeding operations. This monumental decision comes after a Dane County judge found probable cause that crimes had been committed and appointed a special prosecutor at the request of Alliance for Animals and Dane4Dogs. Facing likely prosecution, Ridglan’s owners agreed to a binding deal with the State of Wisconsin to close the breeding side of their business by July 2026 or face criminal charges.
This is an extraordinary outcome. For decades, thousands of dogs at Ridglan Farms lived and suffered greatly in cages, never knowing grass, sunlight, or kindness. Now, because of the persistence of compassionate advocates, this breeding operation will end for good. The prosecutor has confirmed that euthanasia is off the table, and rescue and adoption efforts are already being discussed for the surviving dogs.
This victory belongs to every person who spoke out, filed records requests, showed up, and refused to look away. Together, we’ve proven that change is possible when persistence meets compassion. While Ridglan’s research license remains active for now, this marks a critical step toward ending the commercial breeding of dogs for experimentation in Wisconsin - and beyond.
We’re deeply grateful to everyone who helped make this happen, especially Dane4Dogs. The work isn’t over, but today, we celebrate a long-awaited moment of justice and hope for the animals.
Wisconsin’s LARGEST and longest running animal rights organization
Alliance For Animals is a non-profit animal rights organization that was formed in 1983 to promote the ethical, compassionate treatment of all animals.
Contact us at alliance@allanimals.org or 608-509-6440. We are able to answer emails faster than phone calls, thanks!
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Wisconsin’s Latest Issues
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Ridglan Farms
In Dane County, outside of Mount Horeb a For Profit facility keeps over 4,000 beagles locked in cages, under 24/7 fluorescent light, to be sold for unnecessary, painful, cruel, animal testing.
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Gassing The Geese
The City of Madison uses TAXPAYER MONEY to exterminate the geese they consider a nuisance who live in the park system. We want the city of Madison to embrace NON LETHAL practices in Geese Management
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Wisconsin's Unnecessary Decimation of Wolf Populations
Wisconsin State Agencies are deciding the permissible amount of wolves to kill annually. Special interest groups are pushing for extreme levels of population culling. Wolves are necessary for an ecological balance protecting against economic and health human negative impacts.
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What We Can Do
How can you help protect these innocent animals? Join us in the fight with petition signings, shared media through social media, be a voice at a protest, and push legislators to represent the right thing.
Action you can get behind.
Hear the stories behind these issues. See the individuals like you, use their voice for the voiceless. Share with someone who you think should know about this.
Mahadma Gandhi
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
Albert Schweitzer