After years of court hearings, investigations, open rescues, and protests, the notorious beagle breeding and research facility Ridglan Farms has finally agreed to release 1,500 dogs to rescue organizations. This is certainly a win for animals, but the era of animal testing is far from over, particularly because the federal government enables it.
While the Left and Right don’t align on much these days, over 85% of Republicans and Democrats do agree animal testing should be phased out. Notable voices across the political spectrum, including Lara Trump, Tomi Lahren, Dave Portnoy, Jennifer Welch, and groups such as Democracy Now! have spoken out against Ridglan, unequivocally demonstrating both that the public is united on the troubles of animal testing and that existing policy is woefully out of touch with morality.
Government leaders must act swiftly on this rare convergence of public opinion, removing remaining barriers that keep animals in laboratories.
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Wisconsin-based Ridglan Farms breeds and sells beagles for biomedical research, though some are experimented on right at Ridglan. The facility’s approximately 2,000 dogs have been subjected to extreme cruelty, including medieval, unnecessary procedures such as the removal of vocal chords, performed by non-veterinarians and without anesthesia or pain control. It’s heartening to know that most of them will soon be freed.
But here’s another revolting truth: Ridglan has received millions in federal taxpayer funds, and it’s just one of many such facilities the government bankrolls. It’s not hard to understand why people on both sides of the political aisle are incensed.
There is good news. While drugs that succeed in animal models fail 92% of the time in human trials, new innovations such as computational modeling, cell-based experiments, and chemical analysis are far more predictive. The proliferation of these so-called “New Approach Methodologies” is therefore paving the way for a future free from animal testing.
The Trump administration has actually made substantial progress toward ending taxpayer-funded animal testing, garnering praise even from PETA. Though historically the federal government has spent approximately $20 billion a year on animal experiments, the NIH, FDA, EPA, CDC, DOD, and Department of Veterans Affairs have all recently pledged to either phase out animal testing entirely or cut particularly barbaric programs. These changes will impact the private sector as well, since government agencies have historically provided the lion’s share of their funding.
Legislators, meanwhile, are also seeking to modernize research methods, crack down on unethical breeding practices, and provide avenues for laboratory animals to be retired and adopted rather than euthanized.
However, Ridglan is proof that change is indeed slow and disjointed, requiring continued oversight and public pressure. The watchdog organization White Coat Waste has revealed that, contradictory to promises made, the NIH under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership has spent over $126 million toward experiments on cats and dogs, including Ridglan beagles, as recently as April. When Congressman Mark Pocan (D-WI) confronted HHS Secretary Kennedy on the NIH’s connection to Ridglan in a recent hearing, the secretary seemed surprised and said he would have to look into it.
It’s time for public policy to catch up with public opinion. The Trump administration must follow through on phasing out animal testing across our federal agencies, while continuing to explore additional avenues for ending taxpayer-funded animal experimentation altogether. Legislation must be updated, and government at all levels must begin clearing the complicated web of grants, backroom deals, and bureaucracy that intertwines abusive private facilities such as Ridglan with taxpayer funds in the first place.
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Opportunities to right systemic wrongs don’t come around often. It’s rare to have practical solutions available for complex problems, and rarer still to have such bipartisan support for what needs to be done.
If the animals could speak, they would certainly agree: the moment to end animal testing is here.
Meghan Miller is a senior fellow at the Wilberforce Institute, a pro-liberty & pro-free market nonprofit dedicated to reducing animal suffering.