Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett Orders Rubber Bullets, Pepper Spray Against Ridglan Dogs Activists

Hundreds of animal welfare activists tried to storm the Ridglan Farms beagle breeding and research facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, and were met with rubber bullets and pepper spray, with police arresting the group’s leader.

“Hundreds trying to storm Wisconsin beagle research facility met with rubber bullets and pepper spray Hundreds trying to storm Wisconsin beagle research facility met with rubber bullets and pepper spray BLUE MOUNDS, Wis”

AP News

The Associated Press reported that about 1,000 activists attempted to gain entry Saturday and were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd.

AP News

Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers, and he added, “This is not a peaceful protest.”

The AP said protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence, and it reported that some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility.

The Guardian described the same Saturday scene as “about 1,000 animal rights activists seeking to breach the property” being rebuffed with rubber bullets and pepper spray by law enforcement.

The Independent similarly said about 1,000 activists tried to enter the facility and were “turned back by police” using rubber bullets and pepper spray.

Fox News said the confrontation began around 8:52 a.m. local time at Ridglan Farms in the town of Blue Mounds, where about 1,000 activists gathered after organizers moved up a previously publicized Sunday protest.

Multiple outlets tied the attempt to the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs, and the AP said the group’s leader, Wayne Hsiung, posted a picture of him being arrested on the X account of the group’s leader.

The accounts describe a rapid escalation from attempts to breach barriers to confrontations involving law enforcement and arrests.

The AP said Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett reported that protesters “violently” tried to break into the property and assault officers, and it said protesters ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.

Boston 25 News

Fox News added that deputies were prepared with a “tiered response” and said the Sheriff’s Office pre-planned a response to resistance, while also quoting Barrett that “It was clear from the beginning that this was not going to be a peaceful protest.”

Fox News said deputies warned people through a Long Range Acoustic Device that anyone crossing onto clearly marked private property would be arrested, but it also said hundreds soon tried to break through barriers and fencing while others blocked nearby roads.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described the Saturday scene as chaotic and said Ridglan Farms ramped up security with hay bales, moats and additional fencing, while Barrett said activists had ladders and break-in tools to get through the fence.

The Journal Sentinel reported that at about 10 a.m., an activist driving a pickup truck rammed through the front gate and drove through the property at high speed, nearly hitting police, security staff and bystanders before being arrested, according to Ridglan’s spokesperson.

The AP and Guardian both described barricades including a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence, and they said some protesters got through the fence but could not enter the facility.

The Guardian said the sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters, but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed.

The reporting includes direct statements from law enforcement and from activists, including the leader of the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs.

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Boston 25 News

The AP quoted Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett saying, “This is not a peaceful protest,” and it said Barrett stated protesters ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.

Fox News quoted Barrett again, saying, “The DCSO response to the active break-in attempts by hundreds of protesters was appropriate and proportionate to the behaviors observed,” and it also quoted the sheriff’s office statement that it was able to “maintain order without anyone being seriously injured.”

Fox News said Wayne Hsiung, an animal welfare lawyer, was arrested within minutes of arriving at the property on probable cause for conspiracy to commit burglary, and it reported that he was being held in the Dane County Jail.

Fox News also quoted Hsiung from an X message “from jail” saying, “I am in tears hearing these stories about what is unfolding at Ridglan Farms,” and it included his line, “We cannot give up on the dogs.”

The Guardian included a longer Substack-style statement from Hsiung that said, “As I sit in a jail cell, I am feeling a mix of shock from the sudden escalation of violence and guilt for the failure to protect the people I love,” and it added, “We cannot give up on the dogs.”

The Independent quoted Hsiung’s jail statement that “No one should be assaulted for giving aid to a dog, even if damage to property is part of that rescue effort,” and it said he accused authorities of using excessive force.

WPR quoted Barrett in a Facebook video saying, “We have given warnings verbally, and have signs clearly identifying where they can peacefully protest, and they have ignored those signs and have come into the property and are actively causing a disturbance and chaos in our Dane County community.”

While the core facts of the Saturday confrontation are consistent across outlets, the reporting diverges on key details and the tone used to describe the same events.

The AP said about 1,000 activists tried to gain entry Saturday and that the sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters, without giving an exact total as they were still being processed.

Fox News

The Independent also said about 1,000 activists were turned back and described the sheriff’s video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property,” but it framed the day as protesters being “shot with rubber bullets” and “pepper spray.”

The Guardian similarly described the scene as “chaotic” and said law enforcement rebuffed protesters with rubber bullets and pepper spray, while also including the facility’s website denial that “No credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.”

Fox News emphasized law enforcement preparation and said deputies used tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets “to keep and maintain peace in the community,” and it quoted the sheriff’s statement that the response was “appropriate and proportionate.”

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described the same event as a “second raid attempt” and said Ridglan Farms characterized the incident as a “violent assault” beginning at about 9 a.m., while it also reported that no dogs had been removed as of 2 p.m. Saturday.

In contrast, WPR described the raid as an “animal rights activists raided” a “controversial” facility and said none of the dogs were removed on Saturday, while also adding that the settlement gave Ridglan Farms until July 1 to sell or remove remaining dogs.

The Independent and AP both referenced the March raid, but they differed on the number of dogs taken in March: the AP said protesters broke into the facility in March and took 30 dogs, while the Guardian said in a March raid activists removed 13 dogs.

The sources connect Saturday’s confrontation to an ongoing legal and regulatory timeline for Ridglan Farms and to future protest plans.

WPR said the facility’s state breeding license will no longer hold after a July 1 deadline and that, as part of a court settlement last year to avoid prosecution, Ridglan Farms has until July 1 to sell or remove its remaining dogs, while another sector of the facility that does direct research is licensed separately and will continue.

Indianapolis News

WPR also said the settlement followed a special prosecutor’s investigation launched in January 2025, after years of effort from animal rights activists to shutter what they describe as one of the country’s three largest breeders of beagles for research.

The Guardian said the facility keeps an estimated 2,000 beagles, and it reported that some protesters got through the fence but were unable to get into the facility.

The AP said the facility keeps an estimated 2,000 beagles and reported that activists later moved from the Ridglan facility to protest outside the jail in downtown Madison.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Ridglan said most people who attempted to break in had left by about 2 p.m., while some individuals remained on the roadway, and it reported that organizers were negotiating with Ridglan to purchase the dogs.

That outlet also reported that anonymous donors had offered $1 million for the release of all 2,000 dogs at the facility, and it quoted Matt Johnson saying organizers were waiting to see what comes of the $1 million negotiation.

For the Sunday follow-up, the Indianapolis News outlet said around 200 people assembled outside the farm and dispersed after around two hours, and it quoted Sheriff Kalvin Barrett saying, “We’re pleased with the group’s cooperation today, and their willingness to remain peaceful, while still sending their message of concern for the dogs at Ridglan Farms.”