Ridglan Farms is not a company most people had heard of before 2024. But today, in April 2026, it is at the center of one of the most heated animal rights battles in American history — with hundreds of activists converging on a rural Wisconsin farm, multiple criminal investigations underway, a landmark settlement that forces the facility to stop selling dogs by July 1, 2026, and two dramatic break-ins just weeks apart. At the heart of all of it is a single question: who owns this place, and how did it get here?
What Is Ridglan Farms?
Ridglan Farms, Inc. is a USDA Class A dog breeder as well as a USDA licensed Class R research facility, based in the Town of Blue Mounds, in southwestern Dane County, Wisconsin.
Ridglan Farms was founded in 1966 in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, and has for nearly six decades operated as one of the nation’s largest breeders of beagles for biomedical research. The facility confines an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 dogs, raised in utilitarian conditions and sold to pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations, and university laboratories across North America.
Beagles have historically been favored by researchers because of their size, docility, and trusting natures. Institutions and companies that have used dogs from Ridglan include the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mayo Clinic, Texas A&M University, Bristol Myers Squibb, and the animal health company Zoetis.
Who Owns Ridglan Farms?
Ridglan Farms, Inc. is a privately owned, family-run business incorporated in the state of Wisconsin. It is not publicly traded, and its ownership has never been fully disclosed in public filings.
The most prominent figure associated with Ridglan Farms is Dr. Richard Van Domelen — the facility’s longtime lead veterinarian and facility manager. In addition to his role as lead veterinarian, Van Domelen is also the facility manager of Ridglan Farms. According to the Veterinary Examining Board’s investigation, a third Ridglan Farms veterinarian described as an owner was added to the investigation in early 2025 — indicating that ownership of Ridglan Farms includes at least one veterinarian in the Van Domelen family network.
Ridglan Farms describes itself as a “family business” that employs numerous local residents. Based on publicly available Wisconsin corporate records and regulatory filings, Ridglan Farms, Inc. operates as a closely held private corporation with no external investors or public shareholders. The Van Domelen family has been centrally involved in running and managing the facility throughout its operational history.
Ownership and Key Details
| Party | Role | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Ridglan Farms, Inc. | Legal Entity | Privately held Wisconsin corporation; founded 1966 |
| Van Domelen Family | Owners & Operators | Richard Van Domelen serves as lead veterinarian and facility manager |
| Dr. Richard Van Domelen | Lead Veterinarian & Facility Manager | License suspended September 2025 by Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board |
| USDA | Federal Regulator | Licensed Ridglan as Class A breeder and Class R research facility |
| Wisconsin DATCP | State Regulator | Issued 311 violations; settlement requires dog-selling license surrender by July 1, 2026 |
| Special Prosecutor Tim Gruenke | Legal Overseer | Offered settlement in October 2025; Ridglan agreed to avoid criminal prosecution |
| Nonhuman Rights Project | Legal Opponent | Filed habeas corpus petition in January 2026 on behalf of approximately 2,000 beagles |
The History: Six Decades in Business
Ridglan Farms has been in business since 1966, coincidentally the year the federal Animal Welfare Act was passed. It is located in the Town of Blue Mounds in southwestern Dane County. The “purpose-bred” beagles are housed in several large windowless buildings. A constant cacophony of barking can be heard from the road in front of the facility.
For most of those six decades, Ridglan Farms operated almost entirely out of the public eye — a rural, low-profile business supplying animals to laboratories, largely unknown outside of biomedical research circles. Ridglan avoided scrutiny by keeping a low profile, maintaining drab complexes in a rural community, and proffering the idea that the business of animal testing was something of a necessary evil.
Ridglan Farms is the nation’s second-largest research dog breeder. Just two research beagle breeding facilities remain in the U.S.: Ridglan and the much larger Marshall Farms in North Rose, New York, which housed 18,214 dogs as of August 2024, according to USDA data.
The Collapse: Investigations, Violations, and a Landmark Settlement
The downfall of Ridglan Farms as a commercial breeding operation has been rapid and dramatic once scrutiny began in earnest.
In October 2024, Dane4Dogs and other groups petitioned a judge to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate animal cruelty at the facility. Judge Rhonda Lanford ruled in January 2025 that there was probable cause that Ridglan had violated Wisconsin’s animal cruelty laws, leading to the appointment of La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke as special prosecutor.
Ridglan Farms was charged with 311 violations of Wisconsin Administrative Code, including failing to handle dogs “in a humane manner that does not cause physical harm or unnecessary injury.” It will surrender its DATCP license by July 1, 2026, under the settlement with the state.
Richard Van Domelen, the lead veterinarian at Ridglan Farms, had his license suspended after DATCP found he delegated the procedures to staff who weren’t properly licensed. An administrative law judge upheld the suspension. While he can’t practice, he continues to work at Ridglan as its facility manager.
In January 2026, the Nonhuman Rights Project filed a habeas corpus petition on behalf of the approximately 2,000 beagle dogs and puppies being held at Ridglan Farms, asking the court to recognize their right to be free from cruelty under Wisconsin law.
The 2026 Break-Ins: A National Story
Ridglan Farms became front-page national news in early 2026 following two dramatic break-ins within weeks of each other.
On March 15, 2026, more than 70 animal rights extremists — led by activist Wayne Hsiung — broke into Ridglan Farms and stole more than 20 animals.
The March 2026 break-in and burglary involved a large group of activists armed with sledgehammers, electric saws, and crowbars, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars of damage. Activists broke in through the ventilation system using a sledgehammer to enter and remove animals by force.
Then came a second, larger confrontation. Animal rights activists broke into Ridglan Farms again, with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office responding to find roughly 1,000 activists converging on the private property. The sheriff stated there were between 300 to 400 activists. Tear gas, pepper spray, and sandbag guns were used. A 33-year-old woman from Mesa, Arizona was arrested after allegedly driving a pickup truck at high speeds onto the private property and through the crowd.
On March 25, 2026, the Dane County Sheriff issued a press release stating there is “significant misinformation” about Ridglan Farms currently circulating the internet, and that the investigation into these actions is ongoing and charges would be forwarded to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office.
What Happens Next?
The settlement reached with special prosecutor Tim Gruenke in October 2025 requires Ridglan Farms to stop selling dogs by July 1, 2026. However, the facility is permitted to continue operating as a research facility — meaning it can breed beagles for internal research even after it loses its commercial breeding license.
Ridglan Farms also operates a research facility that is lightly regulated and largely secretive. While the company will not be allowed to sell beagles, they will still be able to breed dogs for internal research.
The ongoing legal battles — including the Nonhuman Rights Project’s habeas corpus petition, the Veterinary Examining Board investigations still open, and potential criminal charges against the March 2026 break-in participants — ensure that Ridglan Farms will remain a flashpoint in the national debate over animal use in biomedical research for months to come.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who owns Ridglan Farms? Ridglan Farms, Inc. is a privately owned Wisconsin corporation, with the Van Domelen family — including Dr. Richard Van Domelen — at the center of its ownership and management.
Q2. Where is Ridglan Farms located? Ridglan Farms is located in the Town of Blue Mounds, southwestern Dane County, Wisconsin, near Mount Horeb.
Q3. What does Ridglan Farms do? Ridglan Farms breeds purpose-bred beagles for sale to biomedical research facilities including pharmaceutical companies, universities, and government labs across North America.
Q4. Why is Ridglan Farms controversial in 2026?
Ridglan Farms faces 311 regulatory violations, a suspended veterinary license, two activist break-ins in March 2026, and a settlement requiring it to stop selling dogs by July 1, 2026.
Q5. Is Ridglan Farms closing?
Under a October 2025 settlement, Ridglan must surrender its commercial dog-selling license by July 1, 2026, but may continue operating as an internal research facility.
Q6. Who is Dr. Richard Van Domelen?
Dr. Richard Van Domelen is the lead veterinarian and facility manager of Ridglan Farms, whose veterinary license was suspended by the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board in September 2025.
Q7. What are the March 2026 break-ins at Ridglan Farms?
On March 15, 2026, activist Wayne Hsiung led over 70 people who broke in and stole 20+ animals. A second larger break-in followed, drawing 300–400 activists and resulting in multiple arrests.
Q8. How many beagles are at Ridglan Farms?
As of early 2026, approximately 2,000 beagles remain at Ridglan Farms — the subject of a landmark habeas corpus petition filed by the Nonhuman Rights Project in January 2026.
Ridglan Farms, Inc. is a privately owned, family-run corporation based in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, with Dr. Richard Van Domelen serving as its lead veterinarian and facility manager, and the Van Domelen family at the center of its ownership and operations. Founded in 1966, it spent nearly six decades as the nation’s second-largest beagle breeder for biomedical research — largely invisible to the public.
That invisibility ended permanently in 2024 and 2026. Facing 311 regulatory violations, a suspended veterinary license, a special prosecutor’s investigation, two high-profile break-ins, and a settlement that forces it to stop selling dogs by July 1, 2026, Ridglan Farms’ days as a commercial breeding operation are effectively over. Whether the facility survives in any form as an internal research operation — and what happens to the approximately 2,000 beagles still inside — remains the defining question.
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