Animals.
This system of testing is
broken.
It's been broken for a very long
time.
The data show that in more than 90%
of cases where a new drug
passes muster in
10 years of animal tests.
When it then goes to human clinical
trials, it fails more than
ninety percent of the time.
You know, the NBA playoffs are
happening now.
If you had a free throw shooter Who
hith one of every ten free
throws?
That person, that player would be on
the bench.
Why is a 92%
failure rate considered some sort of
success?
And the reality is the world is
moving ahead.
We have innovation in every part of
our economy,
transportation, communications,
aviation.
Does anything today in any of
those realms look like it did in
1938?
When we pass the federal food drug
and cosmetics act with this animal
testing standard,
no, it does not.
We now have organs on a chip.
These are human cells that
are aggregated in a
microphysiological system to
replicate what a human
liver would do with a drug or
a kidney.
We have organoids.
We have AI that
can look at all of the data that
exists all over the world on a drug.
Quickly deliver outcomes
that are understandable and give us
a pathway for safer testing.
The idea that we don't have
alternatives is absurd,
especially when you consider that
the baseline is so
deeply flawed.
So we are calling, and I
know Lori has already done this, I
know she's gonna say a word about
this, but we are asking this
federal administration and its
public health agencies.
Who have actually made the most
important set of statements ever,
but any administration,
the best statements in moving away
from animal testing, we're asking
them to put those principles
into practice, because
we cannot rescue our way out of
these problems.
We need front-end solutions
in order to protect
these animals from
treatment, broadly, that is
unacceptable in our
modern Europe.
And when you have superior
alternatives,
you must choose them because
the animals' lives matter.
They matter to them as much as
our lives matter to us.
And before I turn this
over to Lori, I just wanna
say that not only are we excited
to work with her and Big
Goat Ranch Rescue, which has done so
much important work.
Thank you for all the life-saving
work that you've done.
I wanna thank also our
partners here.
Shannon Keith with Beagle
Freedom Project is not here, but
Shannon does a super job
in caring for beagles in particular,
has protocols that we
will be following.
And I know Lori's standards are
going to be tip-top in terms of
her overseeing 1,000
of the dog moving into adoption.
We have Eileen Ribbons here,
the Wisconsin Puffy Mill Project.
Eileen, thank you for supporting
this.
A whole effort in such a meaningful
way and helping with
really every aspect of it.
We are really excited to have
Pam McLeod-Smith from the
Dane County Humane Society
and thank you for your leadership
at a fantastic organization
and for the 500 dogs
at the Center for Humane Economy
will be ultimately
responsible for staging that's
going to occur at the County Humane
Society up here.
And I also want
to note their involvement
with the Wisconsin Federation of
Humane Societies.
And I want to also shout out Paul
Collins, our Wisconsin state
director.
Paul, where are you?
There you are.
And finally, I want thank the
former chair of
the board of the Dane County Humane
Society and a board member
of Animal Wellness Action, which
is the other organization that I
lead, Uh, Joseph,
do it. He was
the attorney on a
pro bono basis who negotiated this
agreement talking with me and Laurie
daily and
Joseph thank you for your
outstanding work and this really
exciting outcome for one
of the people's Here in Dane
County. So Laurie, thank
you again, and I'm looking forward
to hearing your thoughts
So hello, I am Laurie
Simmons, L-A-U-R-E-E
S-I-M-M O-N-S,
founder and president of Big Dog
Branch Rescue, which is
the largest no-kill
cage-free rescue in
the United States.
So today is
about doing what is right for
the beagles and making sure
these dogs are safe.
From the beginning.
It was critically important
to me, and all of us at
Big Dog Branch, that there
was a real safety net
in place.
We wanted a structured,
responsible plan that
guarantees every one
of these dogs is safely
transitioned into
the care of reputable,
fully vetted rescue organizations,
including ourselves.
Places where they will receive
essential medical care,
including space and neuters,
along with love and compassion
that they so deserve.
All of this while being prepared
for their future and
loving homes.
At the end of the day,
that's what matters most.
When organizations,
leaders and advocates work
together, Real progress
is possible, and
that's what this moment represents.
Across this entire effort,
all 1,500 of these
beagles are
now beginning a
new chapter, one focused
on care, stability,
socialization, and
making sure every dog
has the best possible
outcome.
Several hundred of these
dogs will be going to
our two Big Dog Ranch
campuses, one
in Palm Beach County, one
in Alabama,
with the remaining dogs placed
with our rescue partners
across the country.
Organizations we know
and trust.
These dogs are going to
need time.
They will need patience.
They world needs support as
they adjust.
To environments they've
never experienced before.
They will learn kindness and
what it means to be loved,
how to walk on a leash and
see sunshine and
grass beneath their feet.
We're not just moving dogs,
we are preparing them
for life. We
appreciate the cooperation
and coordination that
made this possible.
Especially the work done
alongside Center for
Humane Economy.
We worked together for almost
a month to ensure the right
plan was in place.
This is what happens when
you have collaborative engagement,
a shared goal, you
get solutions that save
lives.
I also want to acknowledge the
role that animal Advocates
and activists.
And the public had in
this.
The courage of these
animal advocates and
everyone who spoke up
and made this possible.
It's a powerful step
forward towards
a much larger mission.
This is exactly what Secretary
of Health and Human Services,
Robert F.
Kennedy Jr.
Has been advocating for
his Make America Healthy
Again agenda.
It's about using the
best, most accurate
science available to
protect human and
animal health.
And that includes how we
conduct research because
the reality is...
Science has changed.
There's growing consensus
that traditional animal
testing models, including
those using dogs,
are not consistently predictive
of human outcomes.
In fact, even the FDA
has acknowledged that
the vast majority of
drugs that succeed
in animal testing never
really translate successfully
to humans.
The NIH has also
acknowledged that animal models
may not reliably
replicate complex
human diseases, which
can limit their predictive
value in drug development.
And it's why we are pushing
so hard towards
newer, more reliable
ways of testing
that are based on human
biology and give us
far more accurate results.
This isn't just about animal
welfare, it's about better
science, it's a about
smarter, more humane
innovation without
causing harm to
innocent animals.
I'm calling on RFK
Junior to open
the Office of Research
Innovation, Validation
and Application,
ARRIVA.
To advance non-animal
biomedical research methods,
we need continued action
by HHS,
NIH, and the FDA.
Continued investment in
full implementation of
programs that will accelerate
this transition
because progress only
matters if they follow
through on their words.
They have publicly stated.
Today is an important step
forward because it
is part of a larger shift
in how we protect the
animals and how we approach
science and how take
responsibility for
doing things more humanely
and better.
At Big Dog Ranch Rescue and
Center for Humane Economy Together,
we are committed to working...
And pushing this agenda forward,
humanely and collaboratively.
And most important of all,
today, these dogs have
a future.
Thank you to everyone who
made this possible.
You know, Lorraine, when you were
speaking, it made me think of, you
know, I've got my iPhone 17.
I came in here with a crank phone or
a flip phone.
You would think I was so incredibly
old fashioned.
A lot of young people, if you have
the iPhone 13,
you're archaic.
How can we possibly think that
this method that was
really enshrined in the 1930s is a
good way to do science?
We have to get beyond it.
I have beagles.
I've had beagles for a long time.
They are just the most trusting.
Incredible creatures and
their own trust is
exploited when they're used in
a laboratory setting.
That's why they're use is because
they're so compliant, they're so
obedient in this way.
I want to ask Pam, in
terms of the County
Humane Society.
I know people are going to want to,
you know, attain dogs.
We're probably not going to have
enough to go around for the demand,
given the incredible interest in
these animals.
What should people do, Pam,
to signal their
interest?
I'll work it out.
Why don't you come up for a quick
moment?
And joining her is Amy Goodes with
the Van Kelly Humanities Society.
Hi, everybody.
So I am sure
it is.
Dane County Humane Society is just
so incredibly excited to be
part of this project.
This has been happening in our
backyard for so long, and
so many people have made this
possible today, especially our
partners here with Big Dog Ranch
Rescue and the Center for Humane
Economy.
So Right now our group
is going to be staging 500 of
the dogs at the Dane County
Humane Society once Lori's
team gets their dogs off and
out to all of their rescue partners.
So stay tuned on our website at
giveshelter.org slash
originallymegals.
We'll have all the information
there. If people are interested in
adopting they can express their
interest there.
We will of course Gladly accept
donations to take care of these pups
because there's a lot of work to do
in the days ahead to get them ready
for their new homes and
we know right now shelters and
rescues everywhere are already full
of animals.
No one group can do this alone
that's why we're networking with our
trusted rescues and partners to
get these dogs spread out throughout
the United States but around
500 of them will be staying in
the Midwest and we're anticipating
at least 50 will be up for adoption
at Dane County Humane Society in the
coming weeks.
Great. Thank you guys.
Thank you. Stay up here now.
Yeah, you want to say something with
your dogs, yeah?
So approximately 300
of the dogs will go to
directly to our Big Dog
Ranch Rescue campuses
in Florida and in
Alabama.
If anybody is interested
in adopting,
you can go to our website at
bdrr.org,
fill out an application.
They will not be ready right
away. We want to do this right.
We want to give them the time
to transition,
get them spayed and neutered.
We will also be releasing
our rescue partners
where our dogs, other
dogs are going throughout the
nation.
Sure there's going to be something
in your state and we
will be releasing that
probably next Thursday
or Friday.
All of us will need your support
with donations.
This is a major undertaking.
All of the rescue partners that
we send out to will also.
So I hope you open your hearts
and your homes to make
this possible for
a great future for all these
dogs. Thank you.
Great. And I just want to say
in closing, before we take
questions, I want to underscore
a few of the bigger picture requests
that we want.
Everyone understand where this issue
needs to go to protect beagles
and other animals all across the
country in major institutions and
with tens of billions of dollars
spent by our federal government to
drive research.
National Institutes of Health is the
largest research funder in
the world.
So we're asking for an NIH
funding ban on experiments that
involve the use of dogs and
primates. Of course, here in Dane
County, you have a primate research
facility, one of the
eight or so primary facilities.
The Department of Health and Human
Services already said that the
Oregon Health Sciences University
primate facility, which is the
biggest primate facility they want
to help fund that
program to turn it into
a primates sanctuary.
As an incredible template.
Second, we want the FDA to
finalize the rulemaking for the FDA
Modernization Act 2.0 so we can
race ahead into this new
environment. The Senate passed it
unanimously, the U.S.
Senate. The House leadership is
delaying and dilly-dallying,
and it should do so no longer.
Again tied in with what's
happening at the
primate centers which are funded
by the United States, moving
them towards sanctuaries,
and then tying that in,
and Secretary Kennedy already spoke
about this, the idea of banning
primate imports.
We are capturing primates
in the wild in Cambodia
and other nations, and
we are importing tens of
thousands of them into the States
for experiments that don't work.
There's zoonotic disease risks and
other risks.
So with that,
my colleague Joseph Grove
is here and
I'm gonna take questions here
first, but then we'll get some
in the queue there.
So please just raise your hand and
I'll apply a guess starting here.
So how long has this deal been in
the making and how many dogs are
left?
What's that?
Yeah, well, let me just
say that with
Joe
Good, our attorney, we've been
having discussions for
quite a long time.
And I'll say that it preceded
some of the activity
that occurred on the grounds
of Richland.
We have been focused on this
idea for a long, long
time, but it's a difficult
process.
We don't know exactly how
many animals, but my best guess
estimate, you know, just based on
what I hear, you know perhaps
500 are remaining, but I don't
now. And that is not something
that Richland disclosed to us in
any specific circumstance.
Right behind you.
Um, how much was the deal all
that you guys had to strike to
rescue these dogs?
I know you said you guys both came
together for that
Yeah, that's a confidential matter
and and we're
you know as as nonprofit
organizations we husband our
resources, but
we wanted to take this
moment in the period between
present and July 1st to get as many
dogs out as I said,
we are very
excited to continue our discussions
with Richling and to find
an exit ramp
for the remaining dogs.
Just to make sure so you can't say
how much you did pay for the dog.
Yes, we did.
But you can't see how much you
can...
Correct, by the terms of the
agreement.
Brian, would you repeat the
questions as they're asked?
Oh, yes, I will.
The question that I just
answered was there
was a monetary payment.
Is that correct?
And I said, yes there was.
A monetary payment by the terms of
our agreement between the
Center for Revenue and Economy, Big
Cone Grants Rescue, original forms.
We are prohibited from
discussing that.
Yes, sir.
So I know Bridgeland Farms is
getting a state breeding license by
July 1st, but it does still have a
license through the USDA, which is
active until 2028, because I guess
part of it is still concerned with
Bridgelands still being in operation
even after this deal goes through
now.
Yeah, we by the terms
of the agreement, we're really not
going to talk too much about
original. There are a lot of other
sources out there that you
can consult in that regard.
But I think you heard from me and
also from Lori that we
want to move on beyond
animal testing all over
the country. We're not picking on
any one institution and
it just doesn't work.
You can mention non-human primates.
University of Wisconsin has, in
their most recent USDA annual report
from 2024, more than 1,000 of them,
more than 600 involved in
experiments classified as painful
or causing distress.
Any message to University of
Washington, what you would like to
see happen with that letter?
You know, on the biogenetic
tree or closer to
us than dogs.
They, you know share an incredible
percentage of our genetic
material.
They, clearly are conscious.
They have social needs.
They have specific behavioral needs
as animals who live in
nature and climb trees.
And it's just impossible to
replicate those conditions in a
laboratory animal setting, even the
best sanctuary struggle to
do that.
And again, my comments about
the failure rate don't just apply
to dogs.
And I will note that while
I do believe that the
public health leaders within the
Trump administration have spoken out
more against animal testing than any
other administration, the prior
NIH directors have
said that the animal testing model
is broken.
This is not the view of
an animal welfare advocate.
This is the reiterating.
Of an emerging scientific consensus
that animal testing is simply not
reliable.
And when you then compare it to
these new methods with all of the
innovation that's happening every
day, again, we shouldn't be
using crank phones.
We shouldn't using flip phones.
The world is changing.
Let's embrace this.
Was there...
Laura Trump is on the board for
Big Dog Ranch.
I see you obviously posting a video
a couple of weeks ago saying that
Bridgeland had denied
a $1 million deal.
So it's safe to say that this deal
going through is well over
$1,000,000. Can you give a rough
estimate as a follow-up to that?
What is Laura Trump's role in this?
I'm gonna.
I'm going to say no it
was not over that I
can't as our contract
says disclose
the amount um
money was the only way we could
guarantee the safe future
of these dogs we
did not want them to be sold
off into other testing
labs so
lots of donors came forward
supporters and organizations
that donated to both of
our organizations
to get these dogs released.
We cannot disclose the
amount, but I can tell you
that it was well under
what Laura had put
out there.
Laura is a huge animal
advocate.
We've been working together
since we started to
shut down Greyhound Racing
many, many years ago.
She had three bagels, one
just recently passed away,
but she's a passionate
animal lover and
really was instrumental in
putting the
what we call the strike force
with the DOJ's
office, with Secretary
Rollins from Secretary
of Agriculture and the USDA
and RFK's
office together to
all work together.
To make animal
welfare better.
The Trump administration is
very committed to it.
If you want to see more about this,
please tune in to Laura Trump's
show, My View,
Fox News, Saturday night,
9 o'clock Eastern time.
And you'll hear more about her
feelings and her involvement
in this rescue.
Yes, let me get it.
Yes, sir. Let me get back to original
if I can. Both of you mentioned the
events over the last six weeks or
so, the activists and the public
pressure.
What role did that play either on
your side or on vigilance side and
getting this deal done?
Well, I just.
Speak for myself that we've been in
discussions preceding
any of that.
So this has been a long standing
concern of mine
and of the Center for Human Economy.
Again, remember, within
18 months of introduction in
Congress, we got the FDA
Modernization Act 2.0 passed
and the beagles were a part of that,
we've being digging into this.
Obviously we've be concerned about
the beagle and marshals
bio resources.
So, I do think it's
incredible There's been an
outpouring and so many.
Manifestations of concern about
animals and testing.
I think it's a new moment there.
And I think you're seeing it with
pundits and you're saying it with
lawmakers and you are seeing it
with the public.
So it's all kind of a rising tide.
Did that add to the pressure to get
the deal done?
I mean, I can't speak for
Richland. You'd have to ask the
folks there.
So these people are going to be
available for adoption.
What kind of issues are
these people going to maybe
carry with them?
What should families be prepared for
when applying to adopt one of
these animals?
Sure, Lauren.
And the question was,
the conditions or the
behavior of the animals and how will
they adjust to their new living
environments? What kind of things
can adopters think
about in terms of the challenges?
So any dog that has
been raised in a
confinement situation,
a testing laboratory,
a puppy mill in cages
is going to go through a
transition period.
They don't know what it's like to
be in a home.
They don't know what is like to
the outside walk on grass.
They don't know normal
things that a normal dog
from a normal situation.
It's all new to them.
So people will need to be
very patient.
They will need to understand.
Things could turn around for each
dog differently as far as
time.
Some could take months.
Some can take longer.
So being prepared
to have the patience,
give the love, earn that trust
to these dogs is very
important.
For each person considering
to give one of these dogs
a home.
Each one of the rescues will
start it, do the beginning,
and hopefully not adopt out
until they're ready.
But any adopter needs to
know it's going to
take love and time.
Hey, did you have anything you
wanted to add to that
question in general in terms of
socializing animals?
So if that was satisfactory, don't
feel bad. Yeah, I think that was
great.
Not that I thought that it was
incomplete.
It was just one of the few of our
friends. Let me ask Joseph Grove.
We've kind of favored our in
office room
or in conference room
crowd here.
Let's take one or two questions from
our online.
All right, very good.
Thank you. From Wisconsin Public
Radio, we're being asked about
the very specific
provisions in the agreement.
You may have already answered this
regarding confidentiality,
but are there provisions of the
agreement you can discuss?
The question is about about
other terms in the agreement that
we can we just the answer is,
you know, we're we're telling you
everything that we could tell you.
All right, and a follow up for that
also from Wisconsin Public Radio.
Do you believe that there will be
other beagles selected, Rachel,
than once the purchase of 1500
beagles goes through?
Was there attempt to purchase more
beagles?
Yes the question is what
about the remaining vehicles are
they are their vehicles and
are we attempting or did we
attempt to contain uh
custody of them the answer is
as I said before yes uh
we don't have any and we
want them and we are we are
excited about the idea of
acquiring them and we
wanna invite Richland to
you know be part of that process
what we obviously need It's
approval. We're doing this through
through discussion and collaboration
and education
And one final, will you clarify
whether it is 1,000 or 1,500
dogs being released in this
initial tranche?
There are 1,500 dogs being
released in this initial
agreement that
was reached between
Ridgeland and the Center for the
Maneuvering of the Antique Dog
Branch Rescue.
One more? No more.
OK.
Obviously, you've been kind of
lobbying at the federal level for a
long time to get some changes.
There's a lot of things happening in
the world right now.
Congress has a lot on its plate.
How confident are you that some of
these initiatives that you're
advocating for can get done on the
federal level, and do you have any
plans to lobby on a state level
for some of the issues that are
specifically based on this concept.
The question is about the lobbying
efforts, and I'll tell you that I'm
very disappointed in
House Republican leaders for not
moving the FDA Modernization
Act 3.0. It has tremendous
bipartisan support.
Lots of Republicans are strongly
behind this legislation.
It's being led by Congressman Buddy
Carter, Republican of Georgia, the
former Health Committee Chairman.
The Senate already passed it.
So both Ron Johnson.
And Tammy Baldwin supported it,
right? They are one of the few
states that has a split delegation
by party. And they both supported
it as have all the other senators.
So Congress needs to
stop delaying on this issue.
This is not just an issue of
animal welfare.
This is about drug pricing.
It's about the speed of delivery of
drugs. It's About adverse reactions
to drugs. I mean, this is a
startling statistic.
The fourth leading cause of death in
the United States is adverse
reactions to drugs.
The animal tests were part of
that screening process that resulted
in this. And if you watch some of
these pharmaceutical ads,
you see all the
side effects. It's the whole run
of the narrative of the show.
You could swallow your tongue.
You could have a heart attack.
There are all sorts of side
effects from these drugs.
That system is not working for
us in the United States.
Question here, any more?
Yes.
Um, so last week
following, you know, some of the
activists were, um, you know,
the groups that were on the ground
originally said that there was a $1
million deal in the works.
Do you know where they were
referring to your guys's work or did
they not have previous knowledge
that this negotiation?
Again,
there were a lot of numbers that
were being thrown around, and we
were not discussing this with
people. This was the confidential
discussion, so there was
a lot stuff flying around.
We're here to tell you that we got
the best deal that we could,
but we wanted those animals, and
that was the bottom line for us.
Complete that answer.
That was if we
were to get all 2000
of the docs.
So this was the same, this is,
they were talking about your guys
negotiation.
I don't know if that was
part of part of that.
Yeah, I think
I think what Laura is saying is
that there there
was there was some
talk in generally.
What is it going to cost to get all
these animals out?
And I don't know
what other side discussions were
happening.
But I don't believe, based on
Joseph Goode's conversations with
the legal counsel for Richland, that
there were a lot of other discussions
going on. But there were lot of
people, a lot of chefs in the
kitchen talking about this issue.
Yes, sir.
I want to break down the numbers as
clearly as possible.
So 502 Dane County on
behalf of the Center for Humane
Economy.
I have 300s of Big Dog Ranch rescue
campuses in Florida.
Can you tell me the other, I'm not a
math guy, that's 800.
Thank you.
Yeah, that's another 700, another
700 that Lori will
be working with her partner
organization. So she's going to take
300 at her facility,
Scott, but just like the center is
participating with Dane County
Humane and the Wisconsin Puppy Mill
Project and Beagle Freedom Project,
she'll be working on the rescues
too.
And then a quick follow-up.
Can you tell me how many rescues
total involved in this?
Any outstanding idea?
Are working with over
50 partner rescues
that we have fully vetted
and that we trust to
do right.
We will also as Big
Dog Ranch be a
safety net for anything that
doesn't work out for
the rescues should that hits
thing they can't deal with
medically or behaviorally
or in the in the future.
They will always have
that safety net and be returned
to Big Dog Ranch for our
thousand dogs.
One last question.
Yeah, okay
Okay, so that's what happened to the
remaining dogs that are in the
facility.
You know, I received a press release
from PETA saying that they might end
up in some facility in
Tennessee, in another research
facility. I don't know if there's
any truth to that or not.
The question is, what about the
disposition of the remaining dogs?
And we simply don't know.
And all I can tell you is that we
continue to feel great urgency
in trying to secure
those dogs.
And we will find a home for every
single one of them.
I guess I could follow up for Dane
County. I was just asking the main
society about information saying
neighborhood get $150.
Is that part of the $500 that you
were with the renewal?
Yes, so we are working with
Eagle Freedom Project, Wisconsin
Puppy Mill Project, and the
Wisconsin Federated Humane
Societies, which is about 40
shelters throughout Wisconsin,
and then Wisconsin Humane is taking
many of them as well.
Lots of partners in Wisconsin who
are going to be after these
Wisconsin dogs.
Okay, thank you all
very much for for
joining us. Thank you to those of
you online and you
can reach me at wane
at animal wellness action.org
lori.
What's the contact for you?
Lori, l-a-u-r-e-e
dot simmons, s-i-m-m
o-n-s at b-d-r
r dot org.
Thank you.
Thank you all very much.
Appreciate you being here.
Have a good day.