Ridglan Farms--located in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin--is the second largest breeder of dogs used for experimentation in the U.S. In this episode we're speaking with Steffen Seitz, one of the attorneys working to prosecute Ridglan Farms for animal cruelty. On October 23, 2024, a Special Prosecutor Evidentiary Hearing was held in Madison, WI where evidence of animal cruelty by Ridglan Farms was presented to a judge in Dane County (where Ridglan is located). Currently according the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are 3,110 beagles inside Ridglan Farms, which is essentially a factory farm for dogs. Ridglan also does research on the dogs inside their facility as well. Unfortunately, the Dane County District Attorney has refused to even investigate Ridglan Farms at all, despite being presented with irrefutable evidence of animal cruelty since 2018, including surgeries on dogs without anesthesia. Seitz, our guest in this episode, describes all the details surrounding this case.

On December 29, 2022 President Biden signed the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 into law which removed the 1938 requirement to use dogs and other animals as part of the process to obtain a license for new human drugs. While this law does not ban the use of animals in scientific research, it allows researchers to employ Novel Approach Methods (NAMs)--human-biology-based technologies such as organs-on-chips--instead of animal testing. NAMs have been proven to be more effective in predicting human safety of new drugs than animals.

Sounds like a great deal, right? Problem solved? So…why in the world are we still fighting to get dogs and other animals out of labs when we have the superior technology to essentially replace them, and a federal law which states you don’t have to use animals anymore? Why is animal use in experimentation sadly on the rise according to the latest government statistics?

To answer these questions, we’re joined by two prominent experts on this issue: Wayne Pacelle, founder of Animal Wellness Action; and Tamara Drake, Director of Research and Regulatory Policy with the Center for a Humane Economy. Together they were instrumental in the formulation and passage of the FDA Modernization Act 2.0. – which was, without question, the most important policy in U.S. history addressing animal testing.

However, now the FDA is stalling on their obligation to adhere to the provisions of FDA Modernization Act 2.0 law and are not advancing their regulatory policies to accept NAMs in human drug approval. This roadblock has led to the introduction of yet another bill, the FDA Modernization Act 3.0.

Get a genuine, inside look at industry, government, and politics surrounding animal testing, and why our voices are more important than ever in this inspiring episode of Dog Research Exposed.

History was made during the summer of 2022. The massive research beagle breeding facility in Virginia called Envigo was officially shut down due to the large amount of animal welfare violations uncovered from inside. In this episode we get an in-depth look at how the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) carried out the Envigo rescue operation.

Lindsay Hamrick, Director of Shelter Outreach and Engagement for HSUS, was in charge of placing the nearly 4,000 beagles safely in the hands of rescue organizations around the country—and she and her team members had only 60 days to do it. She leads us through the enormousness of this rescue and how HSUS is now even better prepared to take on another project like this when it happens again.

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This episode is dedicated to all the survivors of Envigo—the nearly 4,000 beagles who were rescued by the Humane Society of the United States during the summer of 2022. It’s also dedicated to the many thousands of dogs who were sold to research facilities…who never got the chance to really live…to be the dogs they were born to be…our companions and our best friends.