About the coalition
How we got here.
This campaign did not start in 2026. It started in 2017, when three rescuers walked into a Wisconsin facility in broad daylight and carried three beagles into freedom. Everything that has happened since — the prosecution, the silence, the dropped charges, the special prosecutor, the surrendered license, the rescues, the riot police — flows from what was found on that day, and from a coalition of ordinary people who refused to look away.
The coalition
Who We Are
Local Wisconsin nonprofit · founded by Rebekah Robinson
Dane4Dogs
A Wisconsin 501(c)(3) that has worked for years to end the breeding, sale, and use of dogs and cats for laboratory experimentation. Helped pass six municipal ordinances banning the practice across the state.
dane4dogs.org
Policy + alternatives · led by Amy Van Aartsen
The Marty Project
A nonprofit advancing public policy that replaces dogs in product-safety testing with evidence-based scientific alternatives.
themartyproject.org
Open rescue + grassroots organizing
Direct Action Everywhere (DxE)
The grassroots network that brought open rescue to Wisconsin in 2017. Eva Hamer, Paul Picklesimer, and Wayne Hsiung were DxE investigators when they carried out Julie, Anna, and Lucy.
directactioneverywhere.com
Legal strategy + writing · Wayne Hsiung
The Simple Heart Initiative
Wayne Hsiung’s organization, focused on the legal and moral case for the right to rescue. Publishes the public-facing record of the campaign.
simpleheart.org
Training + mentorship for new activists
Animal Activism Collective
Trains new activists through mentorship, online education, and in-person events. Many of the people who showed up at Ridglan came through AAC.
animalactivismcollective.com
Records, FOIA, and policy
Rise for Animals
Investigative nonprofit that has obtained and published records central to the Ridglan case — buyers, federal citations, and the regulatory paper trail.
riseforanimals.org
Wisconsin advocacy
Alliance for Animals
A Wisconsin 501(c)(3) whose president signed the February 2026 open letter to the District Attorney alongside 100+ other organizations.
allanimals.org
National pressure + lab oversight
PETA
PETA’s Laboratory Oversight & Special Cases division has elevated Ridglan into the national conversation around animal experimentation.
peta.org
Ballot initiatives + political organizing
Pro-Animal Future
A collective of voters, volunteers, and small donors building scalable citizen ballot initiatives to end factory farming and animal cruelty.
proanimal.org
The history
Timeline
- April 2017
The first open rescue
Eva Hamer, Paul Picklesimer, and Wayne Hsiung walk into Ridglan Farms in daylight and carry three beagles to safety — open rescue arrives in Wisconsin.
- 2018
Arrested, then six years of silence
The three rescuers are charged with felony burglary and theft. The District Attorney sits on the underlying cruelty complaints for six years.
- March 2024
Charges dropped
Ten days before trial, the prosecution collapses and the case against all three rescuers is dismissed.
Wayne Hsiung — “Why the Ridglan Prosecution Fell Apart” → - January 2025
Felony cruelty finding
A Wisconsin judge rules there is probable cause to charge Ridglan Farms with felony animal cruelty.
- March 2026
100+ rescuers go in
At dawn, rescuers remove 30 beagles from the facility. Police return 8 of them and arrest 27 rescuers.
See the evidence → - April 2026
1,000+ Americans return
Wisconsin law enforcement meets over 1,000 nonviolent demonstrators with tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets.
See the full record → - April 2026
Ridglan agrees to shut down — every beagle to be freed
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy reach a deal with Ridglan: release all ~2,000 beagles and permanently close the facility. Transfers begin May 1, with every dog expected out by August.