135 more beagles released from Wisconsin research facility
The great beagle rescue of Wisconsin is expected to continue on Wednesday when animal rights groups said they plan to remove more of the dogs from a medical research facility.
Ridglan Farms, a medical research and breeding operation in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, agreed to allow animal rights groups to remove 135 beagles from the facility on top of 1,500 dogs that have already been relocated, according to the Center for Humane Economy.
The animal rights organization said it plans to remove the beagles from the facility on Wednesday, bringing the total to 1,635 beagles that have been rescued from the facility since last month.
The latest batch of beagles will be divided between rescue groups, with Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Loxahatchee Grove, Florida, taking 67 dogs, officials said. The remaining pooches will be turned over to the Southern California-based Beagle Freedom Project, officials said.
The beagles are expected to be put up for adoption.
“We just don’t have enough beagles!” said Shannon Keith, an animal rights lawyer and founder of the Beagle Freedom Project.
As part of a lawsuit settlement, Ridglan Farms confirmed that it agreed to sell the beagles to the animal rescue groups for an undisclosed sum of money. The agreement was reached after a series of negotiations and protests at the facility organized by animal rights activists.
Ridglan Farms also agreed to give up its beagle breeding license as part of the agreement.
A federal lawsuit filed in April by animal rights groups accused Ridglan Farms of abusing the beagles, which had been bred at the facility for medical research.
Ridglan Farms has denied the allegations of animal abuse.
"The dogs at Ridglan Farms are happy, healthy and well cared for," Ridglan Farms said in a statement in April. "Publicly available USDA documentation shows this has been the case for many years."
Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for Humane Economy, told ABC News last month that his group was overwhelmed by people clamoring to adopt the beagles.
"The reality is we have more adopters than we have dogs at this time from this facility," Pacelle said at the time.
The animal rights group said it remains unclear how many more beagles remain at Ridglan Farms.
The effort by animal rights groups to rescue the beagles drew the support of pop star Debbie Gibson and Terry “Geezer” Butler, co-founder of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Both Gibson and Butler where on-hand last month when the first group of beagles was freed from the facility.
"It was so profound to be able to hold each of these dogs in our arms and be able to assure them that their new life was starting,” Gibson said at the time, according to the Associated Press.
ABC News' Jason Volack contributed to this report.
