James had been a laboratory research dog, identified only by the serial code YPP5 tattooed into his ear. In March 15, 2026 animal activist Wayne Hsiung rescued the dog from a breeding facility in Dane County, Wisconsin.
That evening, Hsiung reached through a broken window at Ridglan Farms and removed the frightened beagle from one of the cages. The dog’s rescuer immediately noticed the serial code inside of the dog’s ear and quickly blinked back tears. He handed the dog to one of his teammates and returned to rescue more dogs.
Police arrived soon after the break-in and arrested Hsiung. Tear gas and pepper spray were used to thwart activists trying to take the dogs. Protesters took 30 dogs.
Hsiung faces felony burglary charges alongside three co-defendants. The government is seeking punishment up to 12 years in prison. Hsiung’s former California felony conviction from a separate animal rescue case, was reversed this week by a Court of Appeals.
That beagle YPP5 is now named James, and this week he went to his new home to live with his rescuer and family.
The rescue was part of the “Right to Rescue” movement, highlighting animal welfare violations at large breeding farms. The campaign, primarily led by Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), aims to legalize the rescue of suffering animals from factory farms, laboratories and other abusive situations. It asserts that animals are sentient beings, not mere property, and that saving them is a moral, rather than criminal, act.
For weeks, Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy had been negotiating a confidential agreement to purchase the 1,500 dogs for an undisclosed price from Ridglan Farms.
The beagles have since been released, and staff, rescuers and volunteers wasted no time getting to know the dogs.
They started within an hour or so coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled in people’s laps. Every single one of them are super sweet. I think they are loving the attention. I just know they know they’re safe.
A staging area has been set up in Wisconsin to vaccinate, microchip, spay and neuter the dogs to prepare them for their next steps. Hundreds of adoption applications have been received, although the dogs might not be ready immediately to move onto homes.
An agreement with Ridglan Farms had been made last October where they agreed to forfeit their breeding license as of July 1, 2026 in order to avoid prosecution and felony animal cruelty charges. A special report stated Ridglan Farms had been performing eye experiments that violated state veterinary standards of humane care.
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