Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-23, is pictured with Olean high school students who recently visited Washington, D.C. Langworthy sent letters to federal officials recently pushing to free animals at a Wisconsin facility where animal research and testing was being done. The beagles began to be freed Friday.

A Wisconsin animal laboratory testing facility has been shut down – with at least a little help from Rep. Nick Langworthy.

Langworthy sent a letter to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya urging immediate action to end National Institutes of Health funding for research involving dogs sourced from Ridglan Farms as well as requesting a timeline to end federal support for invasive research involving dogs and cats.

Ridglan Farms housed approximately 2,000 beagles bred solely for laboratory testing and has faced sustained public scrutiny, protests, and legal action over animal welfare violations, including allegations of conducting surgeries without anesthesia. Following pressure from Congressman Langworthy and others, the facility has transferred 1,5000 beagles to animal welfare organizations who have begun the rehabilitation and adoption process. Ridglan Farms is set to turn over their state license imminently.

“The practice of breeding dogs and cats solely for painful experimentation and euthanasia is wrong,” Langworthy said. “My heart breaks for these innocent beagles who are victims of their docile temperament, and the very least we can do is ensure that not one penny of taxpayer dollars is spent on enriching the monsters responsible for inflicting such cruelty and abuse. Ridglan Farms is facing its last days, but our work is not done. I’m working with HHS to make sure we never spend another federal dollar that leads to cruelty against dogs and cats.”

Ridglan Farms agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on felony animal mistreatment charges. The firm has denied mistreating animals, but a special prosecutor determined that Ridglan Farms was performing eye procedures that violated state veterinary standards, the Associated Press reported late Sunday night. .

The first 300 dogs were taken from Ridglan on Friday, with more scheduled for removal over the next week. The animal groups have set up a staging area with play yards in Wisconsin, where the dogs are being vaccinated, microchipped, spayed or neutered and prepared for transport, Simmons said. Big Dog Ranch Rescue has already started moving dogs to its location in western Palm Beach County, Florida.

About 1,000 activists from across the country came to Ridglan Farms in the rural village of Blue Mounds, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of Madison, on April 18 in an attempt to take the beagles. They were met by police who used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray. The Dane County Sheriff’s Department said 29 people were arrested and five face felony burglary charges.

Activists have filed a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin alleging that police used unnecessary force. Ridglan has said those who tried to break in were a “violent mob” who launched “an assault on a federally licensed research facility.”

Langworthy’s April letter commended the Trump Administration’s efforts to reduce unnecessary animal testing and modernize biomedical research, while calling for stronger action to ensure taxpayer dollars are no longer used to support invasive testing on dogs bred solely for experimentation. Specifically, Langworthy asked Kennedy and Bhattacharya to provide a detailed list of active NIH-funded grants and contracts involving dogs sourced from the Ridglan facility and other commercial breeders and develop a clear timeline for the end of federal support for invasive research that uses dogs and cats bred for experimentation and eventual euthanization.

“We have a duty to ensure that federally funded research reflects both humane treatment and modern scientific standards,” Langworthy said. “As better and more reliable alternatives continue to emerge, there is zero excuse for continuing to support painful, outdated, and unnecessary animal testing practices.”