As activists prepare to carry out the biggest Open Rescue in the history of animal welfare, Ricky Gervais says, “it’s time to release the dogs at Ridglan Farms, so they can live out their days surrounded by the love and freedom they so desperately need and deserve.”

Trigger warning: This article contains some explanations of animal abuse that some readers may find distressing.

On Sunday morning of March 15, 2026, dozens of people led by animal rights activist and lawyer, Wayne Hsiung, with the support of organization Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), broke into the infamous Beagle breeding facility, Ridglan Farms, home to thousands of dogs destined for animal testing.¹ By the end of the day, most of the participants had been arrested, and the dogs they freed returned to their tiny cages. However, it would appear that this was just a taste of things to come…

In what is being touted as the biggest planned rescue of its kind in the history of animal welfare, on Sunday, April 19th, thousands of activists are expected to take part in a mass rescue of 2,000 Beagles from animal testing breeder Ridglan Farms, Wisconsin, USA.

No attempt is being made to conceal the planned incursion, with the rescue at Ridglan being publicised well in advance of its 19th April action date, in keeping with the spirit of an “Open Rescue, with nothing to hide”. It has even attracted the attention and support of several notable celebrities, including entertainer and animal welfare supporter Ricky Gervais.

Lawyer and animal rights activist Wayne Hsiung has outlined a clear legal case for the rescue of the dogs, which are reportedly kept in 2×4-foot cages, many for several years at a time. According to Wisconsin law, a property owner’s legal interest in an animal may be dissolved if they are implicated in animal abuse. Chapter 173 of the state laws indicates that an animal can be treated as “unclaimed” — that is, legally abandoned — if the owner is found to be guilty of criminal abuse. Essentially, evidence of animal cruelty negates the animal abuser’s property rights and affords justification for the animal rescuer’s action.

Horrific Accounts of Cruelty

Ridglan Farms has repeatedly come under fire for violating animal cruelty laws, including investigations ordered by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Lanford, who appointed a special prosecutor to investigate in January 2025, and a criminal referral issued by distinguished former federal prosecutor, Bonnie Klapper in March 2024, describing illegal surgeries performed on dogs at Ridglan Farms – including the mutilation of dogs’ vocal chords (de-barking) and an antiquated form of “cherry eye removal,” where a dog’s tear gland is cut away – all without anaesthesia, or the presence of qualified veterinarians.

Undercover footage filmed at Ridglan Farms revealed horrifying conditions, with dogs experiencing trauma, fear, and pain whilst being kept in tiny cages that do not allow for free movement or exercise.

The puppies bred at Ridglan Farms are reportedly sold for use in laboratory experiments, which, according to the head of the FDA, Dr. Marty Makary, have a “90% failure rate in human drug trials.”

According to Dr. Makary, “90% of drugs that pass on animal testing do not pass in human testing, when it comes to safety and efficacy”, showing that this form of animal experimentation is not only cruel and outdated, but also irrelevant.

Experimentation Must End

Experiments on Beagles often involve force-feeding chemicals into the dogs’ stomachs for up to 90 days, with no pain relief or anaesthetic, at the end of which the dogs are destroyed.

Comedian, actor, and vocal animal rights activist, Ricky Gervais, says:

“Dogs are the most sensitive, loyal, and loving companions any human could ever encounter. I’m appalled that Beagles are bred for cruel laboratory experiments, which are also, today, widely reported to be failing humans, too. It’s time to release the dogs at Ridglan Farms, so they can live out their days surrounded by the love and freedom they so desperately need and deserve.”

Ricky Gervais, alongside star of Downton Abbey and After Life, Peter Egan, is campaigning with a rescued laboratory dog, a Beagle named Betsy, in support of 83 cross-party MPs at the UK Parliament who have signed Parliament Early Day Motion 187, calling for a rigorous public scientific hearing to put an end to false claims about human medicine and science, which contradict the FDA’s recent position statement on the 90% failure rate of animal-tested drugs.

Peter Egan says: “I’m impressed with the careful legal case lawyer Wayne Hsiung makes, for the right to rescue the 2,000 Beagles locked up at animal testing breeder, Ridglan Farms. There is a history of legal experts ruling that Ridglan is in violation of animal cruelty laws, including conducting painful surgery on their dogs without anaesthesia or the presence of qualified veterinarians. It is appalling that the dogs at Ridglan Farms are locked in 2×4-foot cages, many for several years at a time. This laboratory dog breeder needs to stop its cruel business, and allow all of its dogs to be released into happy, loving, forever homes, so that these Beagles can live out the rest of their lives in pain-free peace.”

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Featured image credit: Joseph Sinclair, FLOE, edited by Dogster.com