Dane County judge appointing special prosecutor to investigate dog breeding facility

A Dane County judge will appoint a special prosecutor to investigate animal abuse allegations at a Blue Mounds dog breeding facility. 

In a Thursday decision and order, Dane County Judge Rhonda Lanford said the special prosecutor will investigate “alleged violations of Wisconsin’s animal cruelty law” by Ridglan Farms, Inc., which breeds dogs for research.

The move comes after an October evidentiary hearing where former employees at the facility testified about procedures where dogs’ eyes and vocal cords would be cut without pain medication or anesthesia. The former employees also said hundreds of dogs were housed in solitary confinement without access to the outdoors, and dogs would often get sores and blisters from of their cages.

The petitioners in the case — Wayne Hsiung, Dane4Dogs and Alliance for Animals — have been pushing for charges against the facility for years. Lanford’s decision said they’ve made several complaints to the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, the Dane County District Attorney’s Office and Dane County Animal Control about the breeder violating animal cruelty laws.

Lanford’s 23-page decision said the judge wasn’t aware of any action taken yet by any of those agencies. 

In a statement, Elise Schaffer, public information officer for the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, said the facility is a licensed research facility and is exempt from state animal cruelty laws.

“At the time of this complaint, Ridglan Farms was found to be in compliance with all applicable federal regulations,” the statement said. “Furthermore, there was no evidence to suggest that any criminal activity was occurring at the facility.”

State law says a judge may appoint a special prosecutor to investigate a case if a district attorney refuses or is unavailable to issue a complaint.

“Petitioners have shown that there is probable cause to believe that Ridglan has committed crimes under Wisconsin’s animal cruelty laws, and the district attorney has failed to issue a complaint or commence an investigation into Ridglan’s conduct,” the decision states. 

Rebekah Robinson, the president of Dane4Dogs, said she was “thrilled” by the decision.

“I’m glad to see there’s a chance that Ridglan Farms might actually be held accountable for the cruelty that they’ve inflicted on thousands of dogs over the course of decades,” Robinson said. 

The special prosecutor who is selected does not have to file charges. Even so, Kristin Schrank, president of Animals for Alliance, said she’s confident that there’s enough evidence. 

“We certainly hope that whoever is appointed special prosecutor will proceed with criminal charges,” Schrank said.

Decision says dogs’ vocal cords cut without pain medication 

The petitioners submitted multiple inspection reports from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection during the October hearing that found the facility was cited for “various violations,” according to the decision.

A 2016 report from the department also found dogs were “displaying prominent stereotypical behaviors; such as: circling, pacing, and wall bouncing,” the decision said.

Two former employees of the facility — which houses approximately 3,200 beagles — testified in October that employees would cut dogs’ eye glands to treat a condition called cherry eye, using no pain medication. 

One former employee shared that he would hold dogs down while another employee would “cut off a gland protruding from the corner of the dog’s eye,” according to the decision. The former employee said this was done without any anesthesia or pain medication and nothing was done to control or help with the bleeding caused by the procedure. 

The former employee said during the procedure, the dogs “would be thrashing around in pain, often yelping, crying out.’”

Another employee said he saw other employees “mutilate dogs’ vocal cords in order to prevent them from barking at full volume,” the decision said. 

“The dogs’ mouths were then pried open and held in place by a contraption, and a Ridglan employee would then reach down their throat with a sharp tool and sever the flaps in the back of their throat,” the decision states. 

A veterinarian who testified said that procedure would create “unnecessary and excessive pain and suffering to the dogs,” according to the decision.

Scott Gilbertson, one of the former employees who testified, said he saw hundreds of dogs who were housed in solitary confinement.

“Gilbertson observed the dogs were never taken out of the cages or allowed any access to the outdoors,” the decision said.

The former employee also said feces would often buildup in the cages, which were made of a “wire mesh coated with a hard plastic or rubber.” Dogs would also often get blisters, ulcers and sores on their feet from the cages, the decision said.

According to a Wisconsin DATCP inspection report, the facility has approximately 16 full-time employees.

“All dogs within the facility are not receiving daily positive human contact and/or socialization, not limited to feeding time,” the report said.

What’s next?

Lanford’s decision does not name a special prosecutor or set a timeline for choosing one.

It said she would first seek out “other county’s district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, and assistant attorneys general.”

Representatives of Ridglan Farms  could not be reached for comment Friday.

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