Troubles mount for Ridglan Farms

Local dog breeding and research facility faces state and federal scrutiny as well as a criminal probe

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During a surprise inspection of the Ridglan Farms dog breeding and research facility in southwestern Dane County on Feb. 5, investigators for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection spoke to 10 current employees who affirmed that a procedure known as cherry-eye removal was routinely performed on beagles there, often by employees who were neither licensed veterinarians nor veterinary technicians.

Several of these employees explicitly stated the surgeries, done to remove inflamed eye glands, were performed with no anesthetic, pain control or after care, according to an affidavit filed on March 5 by investigator Erin Carter of DATCP’s Veterinary Examining Board. Some said numbing agents were applied beforehand; others said “a triple antibiotic with steroids” was applied afterwards. Only one mentioned the use of after-surgery pain relievers, and then only in cases when the pain was “severe.”

Cherry-eye removal surgery, as performed at Ridglan Farms, involves two persons: One holds the dog’s head so it can’t move while the other clamps the dog’s protruding eye gland with tweezers and lops it off with surgical scissors.

One employee told DATCP inspector Tyler Mortenson these surgeries were performed by Ridglan Farms manager and lead veterinarian Richard Van Domelen and employee Heather Sutcliffe. According to Carter’s affidavit, the employee relaying this information was then approached by her husband, who “encouraged [her] to change her statement to state that only Dr. Rick Van Domelen performs the surgeries.” The employee “then changed her answer to state that ‘Rick only’ performs the surgeries.”

That was not true. Sutcliffe herself told state investigator Heidi Ulteig that she has performed cherry-eye removal surgeries, as did more than a half-dozen current Ridglan Farms employees who lack veterinary or veterinary technician licenses. Carter’s affidavit says one former employee recalled being told “technically a veterinarian is supposed to do this but we just perform them without a veterinarian.”

Sutcliffe and other questioned workers also said staff once performed mass “devocalization” surgeries in which dogs’ vocal cords were snipped out to make it harder for them to bark, a practice discontinued in 2018. One worker explained that while dogs were sedated while this was done, “there was no pain control administered.”

These admissions substantiated allegations made by former Ridglan Farms employees Matthew Reich and Scott Gilbertson, who testified at a seven-hour evidentiary hearing on Oct. 23 before Dane County Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Lanford about their experiences. In early January, Lanford found there was probable cause to believe Ridglan Farms “has committed multiple criminal violations” of the state’s animal cruelty laws and ordered the appointment of a special prosecutor.

That prosecutor, La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, tells Isthmus that he and an assistant DA are “in the process of reviewing the documents and talking to the people involved in order to determine what, if any, charges should be pursued.” Gruenke doesn’t want to speculate on how long it will take, but he says the Veterinary Examining Board’s findings will be “part of what I consider.”

Ridglan Farms, which currently contains around 3,000 “purpose-bred beagles,” most sold for use in scientific research, has been in business since 1966. It has come under growing fire in recent years, following a 2017 night entry into the facility by animal rights activists who took video of dogs in stacked cages, many exhibiting signs of acute distress. Criminal charges against the activists, who left with three beagles, were dismissed at Ridglan Farms’ urging just days before trial in March 2024, denying the defendants a forum to highlight conditions there.

The local activist group Dane4Dogs and others have pressed for official action against Ridglan Farms for years, as state and federal inspectors have documented recurring violations. Lanford ruled that Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne refused to take action despite ample evidence.

The Veterinary Examining Board’s investigation was launched separately in response to a complaint filed by Rebekah Robinson of Dane4Dogs against veterinarians Van Domelen and David Williams, one of the owners of Ridglan Farms.

Accompanying DATCP investigators at the unannounced inspection were several agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Explains DATCP spokesperson Sam Go: “It is standard practice for the [Veterinary Examining Board] investigators to invite the DEA to accompany them on complaint investigations/inspections where there is an allegation that involves drug handling and/or drug-related record keeping.” The DEA’s investigation is separate from DATCP’s.

On Feb. 18, according to Carter’s affidavit, Van Domelen sent a series of text messages to a Veterinary Examining Board member complaining about “the animal rights crazies” who had filed complaints against Ridglan Farms. He said the Feb. 5 inspection consisted of “30 people in 15 vehicles,” including sheriff’s deputies. “Many of them are armed and were very threatening to our employees if they did not tell them whatever they wanted,” he wrote. “They said if you don’t talk to us, you might be charged and be subject to criminal charges.”

In a petition filed along with Carter’s affidavit on March 5, Veterinary Examining Board’s interim disciplinary counsel, Helen E. Kennebeck, urged the board to suspend Van Domelen’s veterinary license “immediately and without hearing.” But on March 11, the board did hold an open hearing, where it heard from Van Domelen and his attorney, Eric McLeod, who is also the attorney for Ridglan Farms.

Van Domelen, in his allotted five minutes, complained bitterly about being targeted by “animal extremist groups,” saying he has “chosen this career because of my love for animals and my desire to contribute to the greater good.” He insisted that he had done everything right, including delegating “certain minor procedures to trained personnel,” as he said the federal Animal Welfare Act allows. Van Domelen said a “topical anesthetic” was applied during cherry-eye removal, just as is done for human cataract surgery.

McLeod, in turn, argued that the state animal cruelty laws and veterinary code Van Domelen was accused of violating contained exemptions for dogs used in research. (Dane4Dogs and others emphatically dispute this, saying the law and code do not apply to the facility’s breeding operation, nor do procedures like cherry-eye surgery qualify as research.)

After hearing this testimony on March 11, the Veterinary Examining Board voted, unanimously and without discussion, against suspending Van Domelen’s license. It then voted, again unanimously and without discussion, to enter into a stipulation that Van Domelen had agreed to. The stipulation restricts when and how Ridglan Farms can perform surgeries including cherry-eye removal, dental extractions, spayings and neuterings, and it directs that the discontinued practice of cutting dog’s vocal cords “not be done.”

“This is an order that Dr. Van Domelen will have to operate under while his case is ongoing,” Melissa Mace, the Veterinary Examining Board’s executive director, texted Robinson. “This does not close the case and is not a final resolution.” Mace confirmed that suspension or revocation of Van Domelen’s license was still a possibility.

“We’re pleased that the vet board investigated and that counsel recommended immediate suspension,” Robinson says. “But once again, our government agencies failed to protect the dogs when they chose to accept the stipulated agreement.” She urges members of the public to “call Gov. Evers and ask him to direct law enforcement to seize the dogs immediately.”

In 2022, a Virginia-based dog breeding operation called Envigo was shut down after being cited for multiple serious violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act; most of its 4,000 beagles were placed in homes. In June 2024, Envigo agreed to pay a $35 million fine, the largest ever for an animal welfare case.

Opponents of Ridglan Farms hope for a similar outcome. In January, Dane4Dogs sent Lanford’s 23-page decision to dozens of Ridglan Farms’ customers with a letter urging them to stop doing business with this provider. Several replied to say they have done just that.

“We have reviewed the court documentation provided by your organization and take these allegations of violations of the Animal Welfare Act very seriously,” wrote Chan Jin Park, Ph.D., vice president of research and development for the biotech company Epivara Inc., in an email to the group. “As a result, we have made the decision to immediately cease Epivara’s business relationship with Ridglan Farms.” He said Epivara has “no ongoing projects or plans to work with them in the future. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.”

Robert Canter, a research scientist and division chief for surgical oncology with the University of California at Davis, responded to Dane4Dogs to say: “We have not been using Ridglan Farms since the article [on Lanford’s ruling] in Science came out several months ago, and we have no plans to re-establish any relationship with them unless they are cleared of the allegations.” Contacted by Isthmus, Canter stressed via email that UC-Davis “NEVER bought any dogs from them and NEVER used any of their dogs for research.” It only purchased “blood samples” shipped by mail. He added that “the allegations against them are serious and caused us to stop obtaining samples from them pending legal review.”

Auburn University and the Wisconsin Veterinary Referral Center–Waukesha also replied to the Dane4Dogs letter to say that they have ceased doing business with Ridglan Farms. And, according to Robinson, “Activists across the country will soon be protesting buyers who continue to support the ongoing animal cruelty at Ridglan Farms. Both UW-Madison and Labcorp are customers of Ridglan, so they can expect to see protests in the coming months.”

 Meanwhile, the anti-animal research group White Coat Waste Project has prepared a report on taxpayer-funded experiments involving beagles from Ridglan Farms. It found that in one NIH-funded study conducted from 2020 to 2021 by the IIT Research Institute, 38 dogs purchased from Ridglan Farms, some as young as five months old, were forced to inhale an experimental compound through a facemask for up to 60 minutes at a time and as frequently as twice daily for two weeks. At the experiment’s end, the dogs were all killed.

 And an ongoing experiment at the University of Missouri-Columbia calls for obtaining almost 400 beagles, some from Ridglan Farms, and infesting them with ticks. (An earlier batch of 40 dogs used in these experiments included 37 from Ridglan Farms; about half were killed.) In all, 52 dogs are slated to be used in the highest pain category and an additional 346 dogs will be used at the second-highest pain level.

Ridglan Farms did not respond to a request for comment. In a letter to DATCP dated Jan. 3 to “memorialize” a Dec. 18 meeting that took place between himself and representatives of the state, McLeod said Ridglan Farms “believes it is in compliance” with all applicable regulations, while expressing frustration over the agency’s lack of “clarity” regarding compliance standards.

McLeod, in this letter, said the facility had recently increased its staffing from 16 to 19 employees, which meant that it was now able provide at least “a full minute” of socialization contact per dog per day. He concluded with a not-so-veiled threat of legal action: “We are hopeful that this matter can be resolved without resorting to litigation.”