Ridglan Farms sues; accuses nonprofit of trying to destroy business

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17-04-2025

The Brief
Ridglan Farms is suing Dane4Dogs and its co-founders, alleging the nonprofit is trying to destroy its business.
The lawsuit claims the activist group's actions go beyond protest, citing complaints filed with state and federal agencies and a letter to Ridglan Farms' customers.
The lawsuit accuses a former employee of lying about surgeries performed at Ridglan Farms without anesthesia, though Ridglan's lead veterinarian is under investigation for allowing non-veterinarians to perform them.
MADISON, Wis. - A Wisconsin company that sells beagle puppies for scientific experiments is fighting back against animal rights activists.
Ridglan Farms filed a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court accusing Dane4Dogs and its co-founders of engaging in a campaign to "destroy Ridglan Farms' business."
What we know
The lawsuit cites a series of complaints Dane4Dogs has filed with state and federal agencies, accusing Ridglan of animal cruelty and mistreatment of animals. It also points to a letter the nonprofit activist group sent to some of the companies that purchase dogs from Ridglan Farms.
The letter dated January 27, 2025, is addressed "To Whom It May Concern" and informs the recipient that Ridglan Farms "is under criminal investigation for animal cruelty." The letter goes on to say that Dane4Dogs "will be publishing a list of Ridglan Farms buyers" and that the recipient can be removed from that list by sending an "official statement of ending your relationship" with the dog breeder.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or AndroidThe lawsuit alleges that the letter amounts to "extortion."
What they're saying
Rebekah Robinsin, co-founder of Dane4Dogs declined FOX6 Investigators' request for an interview. Instead, she referred us to speak with Steffan Seitz, an attorney for the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, which represented Dane4Dogs in another case against Ridglan Farms.
"I think the intent, transparently, is just to scare activists," said Seitz, who defended the letter to customers. "The fact that you are asking customers to do the right thing is absolutely protected by the 1st amendment."
Seitz said Dane4Dogs was simply engaging in "civic protest" and doing "good journalism" by contacting customers to ensure they were still actively purchasing dogs from Ridglan Farms before publishing their names on a list.
The other side
The lawsuit also accuses Dane4Dogs of "encouraging" individuals to apply for jobs at Ridglan Farms to get an "inside perspective." One such employee, it says, was Scott Gilbertson who worked for Ridglan Farms for about a month in 2022.
Last fall, Gilbertson testified against Ridglan Farms in a public hearing in which Dane4Dogs was seeking to have a Special Prosecutor appointed to consider criminal charges against the breeder. Ridglan says Gilbertson gave "false testimony" about eye surgeries he witnessed that the company says he would not have been part of if he only worked there for such a short time.
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The so-called "cherry eye" surgeries are the subject of a pending disciplinary case against Dr. Richard Van Domelen, Ridglan's lead veterinarian.
Six current and two former employees, including Gilbertson, told state investigators they assisted in the medical procedures that were performed by non-veterinarians. The case before the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board calls such delegation a "violation" of state veterinary practice, but the board has yet to make a determination.
Ridglan says those non-veterinarians were "trained" by licensed vets who are allowed to "delegate" certain "minor procedures" to non-vets, because they are a licensed research facility. Ridglan argues that federal law allows research facilities to decide if delegating minor procedures is acceptable. Ridglan also points to a January 2025 USDA inspection which found "no evidence" of any violations related to cherry eye surgeries.
The Source
For this story, FOX6 Investigators relied on a 14-page civil complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court, Case Number 2025CV1157, disciplinary records from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, a letter from Dane4Dogs to Ridglan customers (provided to FOX6 by Ridglan's attorney), along with email communications and interviews with representatives of both Ridglan Farms and Dane4Dogs.