1500 Beagles Safe!

A reason to rejoice thanks to these courageous animal advocates.

In February, I posted the following article. If you’ve seen the news of the Ridglan Farm Beagle Rescue on social media, you know that courageous animal advocates, perhaps supported by your words, your actions, your letters, or your restacks, helped to free 1500 pups from life in the lab.

The activists faced tear gas and rubber bullets, but they didn’t cave. 1500 Beagles are free to begin the lives they were always meant to live, in homes, in comfort, in love. I love watching the hundreds of videos of these sweet souls tentatively tip-toeing across a grassy yard or playing with a toy for the very first time. We needed this good news!

Never, never, never underestimate the force of your compassion and determination to make the impossible…possible. Below is the piece I wrote for Dog Wise just a few months ago.

I came across the Beagle Freedom Project while researching another subject for Dog Wise. My first thought was to scroll on by. I didn’t want to read anything sad. After all, the news brings me down on any given day. Why add to it?

I’m thankful that my conscience got the better of me. I knew there were people within this organization who were putting their all into making the world a better place. The least I could do is take a look at their landing page.

What I found there was inspiring, an amazing group of people with a noble and achievable mission; to end the use of beagles (and all animals) in experimental research. I use that word “achievable” because more than 45 countries have banned animal testing for cosmetics already. We can make this a reality.

The United States lags behind nationally, but several states have banned the use of animals in experimental research.

Beagles have super soft, sweet, and forgiving temperaments. Even abused beagles rarely bite or argue their fate. Sadly, this makes them a prime choice for animal research. The Beagle Freedom Project works to end all this and they’ve liberated beagles and other animals from the laboratory environment for more than 15 years now.

The following clip shows BFP’s early beginnings, a video of the very first beagles rescued, taking their first tentative steps on to real grass.

BFP’s approach is three-fold; to educate, legislate, and liberate, globally. Here are some of their accomplishments.

Educate

They developed an educational tool called BFP in the Classroom. The course teaches school kids about the efforts to end experimental animal research, the humane treatment of all animals, and alternatives to animal testing. Their goal is to “foster a younger cruelty-free generation.” Classes are held through Zoom and kids tell us the classes are fun and engaging. If you’re a teacher or the parent of a child, consider suggesting BFP in the Classroom to your school board.

Legislate

“BFP is building a kinder world for animals through legislation and hard-hitting campaigns. Our victories include passing our signature Beagle Freedom Bill in over a dozen states, which requires labs to offer dogs and cats for adoption instead of killing them; Lennon’s Law, which phases out cruel “closed colony” dog blood banks in California; and our Open Cages, Naming Names campaign, which helped shut down the horrific research facility Envigo. BFP will continue fighting for laws that protect animals while bringing their abusers to justice.”-Beagle Freedom Project

Liberate

Since BFP’s founding they’ve given a new lease on life to more than 3,000 animals in 36 states and 8 countries! In addition to dogs, they’ve rescued and liberated cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, goats, horses, mice, rats and more. They take great pride in a global network of staff and volunteers that are ready to help any animal in need. They list beagles on their page for adoption if you’re looking for a pup.

Small, but mighty things you can do

• adopt a liberated animal

• boycott products that use animal testing. How to know? The folks at the Beagle Freedom Project make it easy with the app they developed. The app is called Cruelty Cutter. A simple barcode scan tells you if the product was developed using animal testing. It also shares alternatives; cruelty free products.

• support companies that donate a portion of the ir proceeds to animal welfare. Follow this link to find out more.

• if you work in a lab that uses cruel practices, be the whistleblower with help from BFS to protect your privacy

• hold a fundraiser that promotes awareness and donate the proceeds to BFP

• volunteer to write, send correspondence, or promote the organization

Photo credit: The Beagle Freedom Project

I’m so glad I didn’t scroll on past. I encourage you to visit the Beagle Freedom Project to learn more about this amazing organization.