Ridglan Farms sues; accuses nonprofit of trying to destroy business

MADISON, Wis. - A Wisconsin company that sells beagle puppies for scientific experiments is fighting back against animal rights activists.  

Ridglan Farms filed a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court accusing Dane4Dogs and its co-founders of engaging in a campaign to "destroy Ridglan Farms' business."

'Gone too far'

What we know:

The lawsuit cites a series of complaints Dane4Dogs has filed with state and federal agencies, accusing Ridglan of animal cruelty and mistreatment of animals. It also points to a letter the nonprofit activist group sent to some of the companies that purchase dogs from Ridglan Farms. 

The letter dated January 27, 2025, is addressed "To Whom It May Concern" and informs the recipient that Ridglan Farms "is under criminal investigation for animal cruelty." The letter goes on to say that Dane4Dogs "will be publishing a list of Ridglan Farms buyers" and that the recipient can be removed from that list by sending an "official statement of ending your relationship" with the dog breeder. 

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The lawsuit alleges that the letter amounts to "extortion."

It's just ‘civic protest’

What they're saying:

Rebekah Robinsin, co-founder of Dane4Dogs declined FOX6 Investigators' request for an interview. Instead, she referred us to speak with Steffan Seitz, an attorney for the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, which represented Dane4Dogs in another case against Ridglan Farms. 

"I think the intent, transparently, is just to scare activists," said Seitz, who defended the letter to customers. "The fact that you are asking customers to do the right thing is absolutely protected by the 1st amendment." 

Seitz said Dane4Dogs was simply engaging in "civic protest" and doing "good journalism" by contacting customers to ensure they were still actively purchasing dogs from Ridglan Farms before publishing their names on a list. 

‘False testimony’

The other side:

The lawsuit also accuses Dane4Dogs of "encouraging" individuals to apply for jobs at Ridglan Farms to get an "inside perspective." One such employee, it says, was Scott Gilbertson who worked for Ridglan Farms for about a month in 2022.

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Last fall, Gilbertson testified against Ridglan Farms in a public hearing in which Dane4Dogs was seeking to have a Special Prosecutor appointed to consider criminal charges against the breeder. Ridglan says Gilbertson gave "false testimony" about eye surgeries he witnessed that the company says he would not have been part of if he only worked there for such a short time.

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The so-called "cherry eye" surgeries are the subject of a pending disciplinary case against Dr. Richard Van Domelen, Ridglan's lead veterinarian. 

Six current and two former employees, including Gilbertson, told state investigators they assisted in the medical procedures that were performed by non-veterinarians. The case before the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board calls such delegation a "violation" of state veterinary practice, but the board has yet to make a determination.

Ridglan says those non-veterinarians were "trained" by licensed vets who are allowed to "delegate" certain "minor procedures" to non-vets, because they are a licensed research facility. Ridglan argues that federal law allows research facilities to decide if delegating minor procedures is acceptable. Ridglan also points to a January 2025 USDA inspection which found "no evidence" of any violations related to cherry eye surgeries.