Attorneys with the Nonhuman Rights Project and the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law said they will appeal a Dane County judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit seeking relief for approximately 2,000 beagle dogs and puppies housed at Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin commercial breeder.
The petition asked the court to recognize the dogs’ right to habeas corpus under Wisconsin law, arguing the writ was necessary to protect them from unlawful cruelty and to authorize judicial intervention, including potential transfer or release.
During the hearing, Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke acknowledged that future generations may question the denial of legal relief for animals but concluded that existing law does not permit the requested remedy and dismissed the case.
The dispute arises in the wake of an agreement between Ridglan Farms and a special prosecutor to resolve potential felony animal cruelty charges. Under that agreement, the breeder will surrender its license by July 1, but the plaintiffs contend it imposes no additional protections for dogs that remain at the facility in the interim.
Professor Justin Marceau of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, who directs the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, said the ruling leaves the dogs without meaningful safeguards pending the license surrender. Christopher Berry, executive director of the Nonhuman Rights Project, characterized habeas corpus as the appropriate vehicle to enforce what the plaintiffs argue is a statutory right to be free from cruelty.
The attorneys also rejected Ridglan’s public assertion that recognizing relief in this case would threaten animal use in agriculture, research, hunting, or fishing, noting that Wisconsin’s cruelty statute contains exemptions for those activities.
The Nonhuman Rights Project is the only civil rights organization in the United States working through litigation, legislation and education to secure fundamental rights for nonhuman animals.
The Animal Activist Legal Defense Project at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law works to empower and defend animal advocates through activist defense, affirmative litigation, and training law students to join and transform the field of Animal Law.