State Violence Against Rescuers
Over 1,000 peaceful activists gathered at Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin to demand the release of 2,000 beagles held at a breeding facility already found guilty of felony cruelty. Police met them with tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray and flashbang grenades. No dogs were rescued. The state chose the abusers.
What Happened at Ridglan Farms
The Facility
Ridglan Farms is a beagle breeding facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. It holds approximately 2,000 beagles bred for sale to laboratories. In January 2025, a court found probable cause of felony animal cruelty and ordered the dogs seized.
The Gathering
On 18 April 2026, over 1,000 people gathered peacefully at Ridglan to demand the facility comply with the court order. They brought water, food and veterinary supplies for the dogs. They did not bring weapons.
Police deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray and flashbang grenades against unarmed civilians.
Dozens were arrested, including attorney Wayne Hsiung. No dogs were rescued. The 2,000 beagles remain inside.
Who Was There
The people met with tear gas were not masked agitators. They were ordinary people who refused to look away.
Teachers
Doctors
Nurses
Students
Pensioners
Families
Veterinarians
Faith leaders
Parents with children
“They tear-gassed grandmothers. They fired rubber bullets at people holding water for dogs. This is what the state will do to defend a facility already convicted in court.”
The Court Ruling the State Ignored
January 2025
A Wisconsin court found probable cause of felony animal cruelty at Ridglan Farms and issued an order permitting seizure of the 2,000 beagles held inside.
The ruling was not enforced. Local law enforcement declined to execute the seizure. The state spent hundreds of thousands of dollars instead defending the facility from the people trying to enforce the order themselves.
The court found cruelty. The state protected the abuser.
The Same Pattern. The Same State. The Same Choice.
In Wisconsin, police spent hundreds of thousands of dollars protecting Ridglan. In Cambridgeshire, police have spent millions protecting MBR Acres. The institution is the same, the industry is the same, and the cost is borne by the public.
£2.1m+
Spent by Cambridgeshire Police policing peaceful vigils at MBR Acres since 2021
£165,166
Spent in 3 months of 2021 alone guarding the gates of MBR Acres
Cambridgeshire Police have deployed officers, horses, dogs and surveillance teams against peaceful people holding candles at a gate. They have arrested vigil-holders for standing on verges. They have not once investigated the licensed killing of beagles happening a few hundred metres away.
Wisconsin, 2026. Cambridgeshire, every week for five years. Two countries. One pattern.
UK Policing Is Different
British police do not deploy tear gas, rubber bullets, or flashbang grenades at peaceful protests. The scenes from Wisconsin on 18 April 2026 are not what peaceful action in the UK looks like. UK police operate under different rules, different oversight, and a different culture of engagement.
What happens here is more subtle: heavy policing costs passed to the public, arrests for minor offences like standing on a verge, and civil injunctions used to restrict protest. It is serious, but it is not what you see in the photographs below.
Peaceful action in the UK is safe. We organise openly, lawfully, and in public. Two UK juries have already acquitted rescuers.
Wisconsin, 18 April 2026 — Photos: Lizzy Larson
1,000+ peaceful activists gathered
Tear gas deployed on peaceful protest
Police firing on unarmed civilians
Medics treating the injuredThis Is Why We Organise
Regulators will not enforce the law. Courts issue rulings the state refuses to execute. Police protect the facility, not the animals inside.
The Ridglan action proved, once again, that peaceful assembly at the gates is not enough on its own. 1,000 people stood peacefully and were met with flashbangs. Not a single dog walked out.
The state protects the abusers. Both countries. That is why we organise. That is why open rescue is necessary.
In the UK, two juries have already acquitted rescuers who removed beagles from MBR Acres. Ordinary people, sat in judgement, refused to call it theft. The law is catching up with the conscience of the public.
Stand With the Rescuers
Solidarity is action. If you were appalled by what happened at Ridglan, do not let it end there. The same state is standing guard at MBR Acres right now.