Walter’s Way Home 

Thousands of Dogs Liberated as the Beagle Belt Grinds to a Halt 

It was PETA’s plan that came to pass: Walter doesn’t venture into his family’s yard without his toy. After years in a barren metal cage, the comfort of a favorite stuffed animal never gets old. He relishes games of chase with his canine companions and the exhilarating feeling of racing through soft grass and catapulting into the air. He hasn’t yet mastered fetch but is adept at soccer, batting balls between his feet. It’s exciting progress for a dog who was never meant to run, play, snuggle, or have a family at all. 

Bred at Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin operation that supplied beagles to laboratories, Walter was sold to a disingenuously named Colorado contract testing facility, High Quality Research, as disposable equipment. 

When a Laboratory’s Doors Close, Families’ Doors Open 

For six months, a PETA investigator worked at High Quality Research, whose corporate name was Red Beast Enterprises, Inc. – a designation more fitting for the hellish conditions inside. Dogs and cats endured near-constant confinement in bleak kennels without even a blanket on the hard floor. The facility’s veterinarian used gynecological tools to cut dogs’ vocal cords – so that their barking wouldn’t be as “loud” or “shrill” – and denied them pain relief afterward. Animals were left to suffer from inflamed skin, an eye ulcer, open sores, and other painful conditions. 

PETA’s evidence sparked widespread protests, federal inspections, citations for more than 200 apparent violations of the Animal Welfare Act, and, finally, the facility’s closure and liberation of every surviving animal. Kindness Ranch, an organization that rehabilitates animals used in experiments, began their healing journey. Soon, Walter was one of a group of beagles nestled into a PETA-driven van on his way to meet his new family. 

But animal advocates weren’t finished. 

Ending Ridglan’s Cruel Reign 

Inside Red Beast’s seedy bedfellow, Ridglan Farms, agents from Direct Action Everywhere documented beagles in feces-encrusted metal cages stacked in a windowless shed. The dogs’ feet were in constant pain from standing on wire floors, and their bodies were roadmaps of untreated wounds. Untrained workers performed surgical procedures, including vocal cord removals, eye surgeries, and dental extractions, often without proper anesthesia or post-surgical pain relief. Records indicated that nearly 275 puppies died there every year. 

PETA, Direct Action Everywhere, and other animal protection groups had been collaborating to push Ridglan toward its end and, in 2024, won a court judgment to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate. Officials confirmed animal advocates’ horrific accounts, and as the walls closed in, Ridglan copped a deal to avoid charges and surrendered its breeding license. 

But even then, the beagles weren’t yet safe. The company could still sell them to laboratories. Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy negotiated custody of 1,500 dogs. PETA launched a public campaign to ensure Ridglan released all the dogs, calling on Wisconsin’s governor to intervene and on Ridglan’s customer laboratories to halt shipments. Public outcry hit a fever pitch, with advocates from across the country descending on Ridglan in attempts to break in and rescue the remaining dogs. It was game over. Ridglan relinquished the dogs to animal protection groups and shut its doors. In a powerful rebuke, the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board also stripped head veterinarian Richard Van Domelen of his license.