Ridglan Farms
Closing July 2026Blue Mounds, Dane County, Wisconsin — USDA Class A Breeder + Class R Research Facility
~3,200 dogs16 employeesOperating since 1960s311 DATCP violations$55K fine
The Ridglan Story
From a dog breeding facility operating in obscurity to the second major beagle breeder shut down for cruelty — told in six chapters spanning 60 years. Hover underlined terms for definitions.
Ridglan Farms has been breeding beagles for laboratory research in Blue Mounds, Dane County, Wisconsin since the 1960s — about 25 miles west of Madison. The facility holds both a USDA Class A breeding license and a Class R research facility license. For decades, it operated with minimal public scrutiny. By the mid-2000s, it housed thousands of dogs maintained by a skeleton crew, with a single veterinarian overseeing procedures that would later be described as systematic cruelty.
Key events
1960sRidglan Farms begins breeding beagles for laboratory research
2006Matthew Reich begins 5-year employment — later becomes key witness
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