Ridglan Farms--located in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin--is the second largest breeder of dogs used for experimentation in the U.S. In this episode we're speaking with Steffen Seitz, one of the attorneys working to prosecute Ridglan Farms for animal cruelty. On October 23, 2024, a Special Prosecutor Evidentiary Hearing was held in Madison, WI where evidence of animal cruelty by Ridglan Farms was presented to a judge in Dane County (where Ridglan is located). Currently according the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are 3,110 beagles inside Ridglan Farms, which is essentially a factory farm for dogs. Ridglan also does research on the dogs inside their facility as well. Unfortunately, the Dane County District Attorney has refused to even investigate Ridglan Farms at all, despite being presented with irrefutable evidence of animal cruelty since 2018, including surgeries on dogs without anesthesia. Seitz, our guest in this episode, describes all the details surrounding this case.

On December 29, 2022 President Biden signed the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 into law which removed the 1938 requirement to use dogs and other animals as part of the process to obtain a license for new human drugs. While this law does not ban the use of animals in scientific research, it allows researchers to employ Novel Approach Methods (NAMs)--human-biology-based technologies such as organs-on-chips--instead of animal testing. NAMs have been proven to be more effective in predicting human safety of new drugs than animals.

Sounds like a great deal, right? Problem solved? So…why in the world are we still fighting to get dogs and other animals out of labs when we have the superior technology to essentially replace them, and a federal law which states you don’t have to use animals anymore? Why is animal use in experimentation sadly on the rise according to the latest government statistics?

To answer these questions, we’re joined by two prominent experts on this issue: Wayne Pacelle, founder of Animal Wellness Action; and Tamara Drake, Director of Research and Regulatory Policy with the Center for a Humane Economy.  Together they were instrumental in the formulation and passage of the FDA Modernization Act 2.0. – which was, without question, the most important policy in U.S. history addressing animal testing.

However, now the FDA is stalling on their obligation to adhere to the provisions of FDA Modernization Act 2.0 law and are not advancing their regulatory policies to accept NAMs in human drug approval. This roadblock has led to the introduction of yet another bill, the FDA Modernization Act 3.0.

Get a genuine, inside look at industry, government, and politics surrounding animal testing, and why our voices are more important than ever in this inspiring episode of Dog Research Exposed.

History was made during the summer of 2022. The massive research beagle breeding facility in Virginia called Envigo was officially shut down due to the large amount of animal welfare violations uncovered from inside. In this episode we get an in-depth look at how the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) carried out the Envigo rescue operation.

Lindsay Hamrick, Director of Shelter Outreach and Engagement for HSUS, was in charge of placing the nearly 4,000 beagles safely in the hands of rescue organizations around the country—and she and her team members had only 60 days to do it. She leads us through the enormousness of this rescue and how HSUS is now even better prepared to take on another project like this when it happens again.  

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This episode is dedicated to all the survivors of Envigo—the nearly 4,000 beagles who were rescued by the Humane Society of the United States during the summer of 2022. It’s also dedicated to the many thousands of dogs who were sold to research facilities…who never got the chance to really live…to be the dogs they were born to be…our companions and our best friends.

On March 18, three activists go on trial for rescuing three dogs from Ridglan Farms. Ridglan Farms—located in Dane County, Wisconsin—is a research puppy mill that keeps hundreds of dogs stacked in cages in windowless sheds and sells their puppies for experimentation. Find out how you can get involved and help the beagles trapped inside Ridglan Farms. Support the activists who saved these three beagles’ lives and who will bravely be telling their rescue stories to the world. This is our opportunity to protest the injustice of prosecuting animal rescue instead of animal abuse: https://dane4dogs.org/trial/

On the night of April 17, 2017, three courageous people representing the animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) rescued three beagles from inside Ridglan Farms—an enormous factory farm breeding beagles for cruel research experiments in Wisconsin. The beagles—Julie, Anna, and Lucy—are now safe in loving homes. However, the three activists who saved their lives now face felony burglary and felony theft charges. This compelling, roundtable discussion--including two of the rescuers--reveals why the “right to rescue” should be defended, especially when the welfare of animals is at stake. Also learn how you can support the beagles and these brave activists in their upcoming trial in March 2024.

How can someone work in a research laboratory where their job entails experimenting on dogs? While the abuse of dogs is criminalized outside the walls of the laboratory, inside the laboratory it’s accepted and lawful. Why is there such a disconnect in how we define animal abuse? Furthermore, if people’s jobs include harming and killing dogs and other animals, what effect could this have on their personal lives—and our society in general? Research shows a definitive connection between violence against animals and violence against people, as well as other negative psychological impacts. Dr. Amy Fitzgerald, Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Windsor, expertly uncovers what consequences the animal testing industry has on human and animal wellbeing.

Beagle Freedom Project (BFP) founder and president Shannon Keith joins us once again to reveal BFP’s most recent, ground-breaking efforts to help dogs in research laboratories. As one of the most well-known activists in the fight against animal testing, Shannon is always ready to jump in to help wherever she is needed—even if the need is an ocean away. Heartening rescue stories—including one about the royal beagle Mama Mia—, more details about BFP’s new project in the United Kingdom, and an honest conversation about the “power of a person” and why that matters for dogs in research are all included in this inspiring episode.  

When the massive research dog breeding facility Envigo in Virginia was shut down in 2022 due to numerous animal welfare violations, over 4,000 beagles were set free and adopted out in what has become the largest dog rescue in U.S. history. Sadly, these beagles were not given names in Envigo—they were given ear tattoos as puppies to identify them—much like a barcode on a piece of inventory.

During the rescue process, the over 4,000 beagles were split up among 160 different animal shelters across the nation, leaving many adopters to wonder: did my beagle’s brothers and sisters also make it out alive? And if so, where are they now? Michael Taylor, founder of Finding Connections: Envigo Beagles, reveals how he has managed to connect Envigo beagle families by cracking the code of the dogs’ ear tattoos given by Envigo. Up until now, the ear tattoos were secret codes, but that has all changed, and the availability of this information is proving to be profound.

Undercover investigators in the field of animal cruelty work in absolute secrecy in research laboratories, factory farms, and other places where animal abuse is conducted on a daily basis as part of the job. Their mission? To expose this cruelty and present footage to lawmakers, the media, and members of the public who have the power to stop it. Get an exclusive look into the heart, soul, and the lives of undercover investigators at PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) as Daniel Paden, Vice President of Evidence Analysis for PETA’s investigations division, walks us through what it takes to go undercover, and why raising public awareness through these investigations is so powerful in affecting change for dogs in laboratories and all animals facing human-afflicted cruelty. 

Lori Cohen’s life changed forever when she got her first beagle and discovered the painful truth that dogs are still used in large numbers for experimental research globally—including her home country of Canada. She was so moved to help research dogs and help change the paradigm of animal testing that she founded her own rescue organization called The Beagle Alliance. Lori is currently the executive director of The Beagle Alliance, based in Manitoba, and their mission is to give dogs and other animals used in experimental research and situations of abuse and neglect a second chance at life. Lori reveals the challenges she faces trying to rescue dogs from research laboratories in Canada, and more about their critical mission throughout North America.