Ridglan Farms beagles sacrificed in painful experiments at UW-Madison

MADISON, Wis. – A FOX6 investigation finds the University of Wisconsin performed painful experiments on Ridglan Farms beagles – and those beagles did not survive. We now have the university’s explanation and an animal rights group’s call to action.

Experiments revealed

What we know:

In January 2023, the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine bought six, 11-month-old beagles from Ridglan Farms.

More than 1,600 beagles once caged at Ridglan Farms are getting a second chance at life. But for every Bailey, Milo, Lucy, or Ginger, there are countless others whose fate looks different. 

Lindsey Soffes is with Rise for Animals, an animal rights group that obtained records and photographs documenting painful experiments on beagles at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. 

What they’re saying:

“Look at what you saved these animals from,” Soffes said. “It’s jarring, but we think it’s also necessary. Because it shows exactly what we are fighting against.”

A Ridglan Farms beagle purchased by the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in 2023 is placed under anesthesia for a research experiment.

Most of the photos obtained are too graphic to share. They illustrate what happened to six, 11-month-old dogs shipped from Ridglan Farms to the UW campus in 2023. 

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“These animals were not sick,” Soffes said. “They were not suffering from the conditions that were under study or the interventions that were being researched. They were by the university’s own records ‘healthy’ at the time that they were purchased.”

A Ridglan Farms beagle purchased by the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in 2023 is placed under anesthesia for a research experiment.

The experiments

Dig deeper:

Those otherwise healthy dogs were later noted to be shivering, vomiting and defecating in their crates. Some of the dogs were subjected to repeated surgical procedures just days apart. 

One experiment aimed to determine if Abbott Laboratory’s Freestyle Libre glucose monitor works when a dog is under anesthesia. Another involved injecting a blue chemical to see where anesthesia actually goes inside the dog during surgery. After the experiments, the dogs were euthanized for further study. 

“We’ve sacrificed one life for another,” Soffes said. 

UW statement

What we know:

In a statement, the University of Wisconsin said the studies explored better ways to administer anesthesia that, “Veterinarians across the country are now safely using.”

“Why isn’t that a good trade-off?” asked FOX6 Investigator Bryan Polcyn. 

“These dogs did not volunteer for this. They did not consent to this. And they were really used as tools,” Soffes answered. 

Soffes points out that researchers are never allowed to experiment on humans without informed consent, even if other humans might benefit. 

“And it is our position that if it is unethical to do that in humans, it is also unethical to do that in dogs,” Soffes said.

Experiments continuing?

Big picture view:

It is unclear if UW has continued to experiment on dogs since 2023. It says the practice is an “evolving one” that the university will “continue to examine” going forward. 

But Soffes said this is just one laboratory in a larger system that still experiments on more than 40,000 dogs every year. 

“Even if you can’t weigh in on the science itself, you can absolutely weigh in on what you believe is right and what you believe is wrong,” Soffes said. 

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Above all, Soffes said there is no such thing as a “research dog.”

“These are dogs. They are just dogs who have unfortunately suffered a different fate,” Soffes said. 

Funding for research

What we know:

The studies in 2023 were funding by the University of Wisconsin Foundation, the school’s private fundraising arm. 

In a statement published to the UW website on Friday, June 5, the university said there are no dogs from Ridglan Farms house at UW-Madison “at this time.”