Attorney faces felony charges in beagle farm break-in

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In Brief

• Judge finds sufficient evidence to move forward with felony burglary case.
• California attorney and four co-defendants charged in beagle facility break-in.
• Animal rights activists cite alleged abuse; facility denies wrongdoing.
• Lawsuit filed against sheriff’s department over protest response.

MADISON, Wis. — A judge found enough evidence to continue a criminal case against a California attorney accused of leading a break-in at a beagle breeding facility outside of Madison last month.

Wayne Hsiung appeared in Dane County Circuit Court for a preliminary hearing on April 29, where a court commissioner found substantial information to continue the case, after seeing multiple videos of the March 15 break-in at Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, about 30 miles outside of Madison.

About a dozen of Hsiung’s supporters gathered in the courtroom, some suppressing tears as videos of the beagles at Ridglan were played as evidence.

Hsuing, a California attorney and animal rights activist, was arrested earlier this month after an attempted raid at Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds.

Speaking to supporters and reporters after the hourlong hearing, Hsiung said he is confident in the case.

“We have never had this much evidence of animal abuse in an open rescue, probably in history, and certainly from what I’ve seen,” he said. “And because of that, this case demonstrates the profound failure of the legal system to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Dogs can’t file a lawsuit, the can’t call 911, they can’t file a criminal complaint.”

Hsiung called his case a “test for our legal system.” His attorney said he does not want to see the case dismissed, so that Hsiung gets his day in court.

At his initial court appearance April 21, Court Commissioner Brian Asmus banned Hsiung from Dane County, except for hearings or meetings with his attorney.

At the April 29 hearing, attorneys for Hsiung asked Asmus to remove the stipulations that prevent him from being in Dane County or speaking with his codefendants. Asmus agreed to lift the ban on Hsiung being in Dane County, but kept the ban on Hsiung speaking with his co-defendants.

He and four co-defendents – Melany Brieno, Aditya Aswani, Michelle Lunsky and Dean Wyrzykowski – have been charged with felony burglary as a party to a crime, a class F felony carrying a maximum penalty of 12 years and six months in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Hundreds of animal rights activists descended upon Ridglan to protest against the farm on April 20, which breeds and raises beagles for research. The activists were hoping to take the nearly 2,000 beagles that remain at the facility, but no dogs were removed from the premises.

Videos from the day showed people being pepper sprayed and tear-gassed by law enforcement. About 25 people were arrested.

In a previous raid in March, dozens of activists managed to get into the facility and removed 23 dogs. Twenty-seven people were arrested in relation to that break-in.

The protests followed an October settlement between the state and Ridglan, in which the facility agreed to stop the breeding and sales of dogs by July 1, but was still permitted to conduct its own internal research on the remaining animals.

The settlement came after a Dane County judge appointed a special prosecutor last year to examine evidence against Ridglan Farms gathered by several animal rights groups. Former employees testified that dogs were being mistreated, including having their eye glands removed without anesthesia or pain control.

The special prosecutor, La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke, determined the eye procedures violated state veterinary standards and constituted animal mistreatment. In exchange for the state not prosecuting, Ridglan agreed to give up its state breeding license, which ends its practice of selling dogs to outside researchers.

Following the most recent protests, activists sued Ridglan Farms and the Dane County Sheriff’s Department over its response to what they said was initially a peaceful protest. Police deployed tear gas and rubber bullets, which protestors argue was an excessive use of force.

According to a report from the Cap Times, the lawsuit argues that law enforcement failed to safely intervene to protect the activists and the dogs inside the facility.

Ridglan Farms said the claims in the lawsuit are “without merit,” and that law enforcement was keeping the dogs and the property safe. It has repeatedly denied mistreating the dogs in its care.

The company says that the beagles have contributed to research on rabies, canine parvovirus, heartworm, dog arthritis and distemper.

Ridglan Farms announced plans April 29 to sell a majority of its dogs to two animal rescue groups.