The Tide Is Turning Against Ridglan. Why Does the State Keep Defending the Company?
I just got word from comedian Ricky Gervaisâs representatives that he is offering his full-throated endorsement of the Ridglan rescue effort. The Daily Mirror published his statement. âItâs time to release the dogs at Ridglan Farms, so they can live out their days surrounded by the love and freedom they so desperately need and deserve.â Ricky is merely the latest influential figure to support the effort. Dr. Jane Goodall condemned Ridglanâs âatrocious animal welfare recordâ and wrote an op-ed to support us in the Washington Post. Musicians (Moby) and podcasters (Jen Welch) have been joining our Zoom calls for rescuers. (The legendary environmental activist and lawyer Steven Donziger is joining our next oneâSunday at 1 pm ET.) And, just a few days ago, Ridglanâs own member of Congress, Mark Pocan, condemned the companyâs âalarmingâ mistreatment of dogs and told them to ârehom[e] every beagle.â Yet the Dane County authorities continue to protect Ridglan and target their rescuers. Just a few days ago, a former Ms. Teen Wisconsin, Melany, went to Ridglan to pray for the dogs outside of the facility, as she has the First Amendment right to do. Ridglan cars swarmed her, boxing her in. That is a crime. You cannot falsely imprison someone on a public road. But when she called 911, the police harassed Melanyâasking âWhy are you wearing a dress?ââand refused to help. Indeed, they showed up at her door the next day to tell her she would face law enforcement consequences if she visited again. What is going on? The answer is partly Ridglanâs deep connections to the government. Ridglanâs head vet Rick VanDomelen is the chair of the Town of Blue Mounds Board. The ownerâs son-in-law, Jerry Blizzard, is the townâs Constable. Ridglan, in short, is embedded in law enforcement. And while it is a crime to use public resources for private benefit in Wisconsin, that is a law that is rarely enforced. The answer is also partly that police, even in progressive counties, are reflexively anti-protester. The police are part of the established order. They are taught from Day 1 to dislike those who seek change. The result is that even peaceful, lawful protesters are often treated like criminals by improperly-trained police. But I think the best explanation is one that goes beyond law enforcement; itâs a culture that sees animal abuse as ânot serious.â Most people care for animals. Most people hate to see them suffer. But animals are not CEOs of corporations or generals of wars. They donât teach at prestigious universities or lead white-ribbon panels. They donât organize galas or donate to campaigns. And that has led their complaints to be ignored. Animal issues are seen as something that sentimental children or soccer moms care aboutâbut not the âimportantâ people in places like Dane County. This is a cultural pathology. Everyone, individually, cares about animals, but because itâs not âprestigiousâ to defend them, the system ignores their concerns. The result of this cultural pathology is that even the most brutal abuse of animals is ignoredâespecially when itâs undertaken by a powerful person or industry. But this cultural pathology is now remedying. A half century ago, when Ridglan was founded, and the US was in the middle of a Cold War, no one bothered to look twice at the fact that dogs were being radiated and poisoned en masse. But now everyone is looking. Not just Ricky Gervais and Jane Goodall and Mark Pocan, but millions of people across the nation and world. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, which has barely any following on social media, has had tens of millions of viewers flocking to its platform to follow the story. What does this mean for the authorities? Itâs an opportunity for them to change. My friend and fellow organizer Almira Tanner set out this week why this moment is so important. It is a so-called âdilemma action,â where the authorities will be forced to choose between hard options. Comply with the power structure, or join the people in fighting it. I can understand why the authorities have looked the other way. The system wasnât builtâpolitically, legally, culturallyâto address the abuse of dogs. But I canât understand why they would continue to look the other way now that weâve reached a dilemma moment. The nation wants these dogs protected. Challenging a powerful industry with deep ties to government isnât easy. But the other choiceâsupporting the criminal abuse of dogs and targeting their rescuersâis even worse. Over the long term, even the authorities will make the right choice. With Rickyâs endorsement, the wave for the April 19 rescue is growingâand this weekend is the last time to join it. As I hit send on this newsletter, we have nearly 1,774 people signed up. To get to 2000, the exact number of beagles at Ridglan Farms, we need you to sign upâand share the sign up website with everyone you know. My friend Lincoln Quirk, who I mentioned in my newsletter yesterday, wrote a short blog about why he was willing to go to jail to defend the Ridglan pups. The entire piece is worth reading, but the last part is particularly important. If we want change, we have to âto challenge ourselves to do more and more courageous things.â Remember to steal all my content for this last push! We are hoping to get this thermometer past 2000 by the end of Sunday. We donât have a big marketing budget, so we depend on people like you. For that purpose, feel free to post or share any of the content in this folder, including videos Iâve posted to my own social media! Every person you inspire to join us could be the difference between life and death for a dog. Finally, donât forget our last Zoom briefing is tomorrow at 1 pm ET. New recruits for the rescue are especially encouraged to join. But given that we have another special guest, Steven Donziger, itâll probably be worth it for all of you. Join the WhatsApp community to get the Zoom link.
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