Kennedy and Rollins Make Huge Announcement About Ridglan Farms and Animal Testing

Sarah Anderson : Jun 16, 2026
PJ Media

...The Trump administration is launching a new National Institute of Health (NIH) office, the Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA), to "speed the transition away from animal testing and toward modern, human-based science."

[PJMedia.com] If you're like me, and you've been keeping up with the situation at Ridglan Farms, you know that while 1,500 of the beagles there were freed last month, about 500 remained locked up in that horrific place. I know many of you have expressed your concern for the remaining dogs in the comments sections of my previous articles on this topic. (Screengrab image: via X-Beagle Freedom Project)

If you are one of those people, I have some great news. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Department of Agriculture Secretary (USDA) Brooke Rollins announced Monday that those remaining dogs—there are about 475—will be removed from the facility and placed with a no-kill shelter, where they'll be prepared for adoption and the opportunity for a much brighter future.

The two thanked Lara Trump, Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, for her help. She's been very involved in this whole process. Rollins also basically said that Ridglan Farms is on notice to follow through with giving up its breeding license by July, and if it does not change its practices the USDA will begin the termination process.

In case you're not familiar with the situation, Ridglan Farms is a "Wisconsin-based research facility that breeds dogs for its own purposes and to sell to other facilities for experiments like toxicity testing and vaccine and drug development. It's the second-largest of its kind in the United States, and it's been in business for about six decades."

Here's more about the situation that I wrote last month: 

For years, animal welfare advocates accused Ridglan Farms of inhumane practices and mistreating the beagles it breeds. They claimed they lived in awful conditions with no exercise or socialization, and no access to the outdoors. I've read about accusations ranging from piles of waste everywhere to a strong scent of ammonia throughout the building to dogs forced to walk on floors essentially made of chicken wire. They even claimed that procedures, like cherry eye surgery, were performed on the dogs without veterinary oversight or pain relief. 

Ridglan denied this, of course, but at some point, employees also began to speak out. 

Eventually, a Dane County judge found probable cause for animal cruelty violations. Rather than go to trial, Ridglan Farms agreed to a settlement that would involve giving up its breeding license by July 2026 and following the conditions laid out by the court. 

Even more exciting, they announced that the Trump administration is launching a new National Institute of Health (NIH) office, the Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA), to "speed the transition away from animal testing and toward modern, human-based science." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Continue reading, and watch the video of the full announcement Here.