Anyone who’s been active on Instagram lately has likely been emotionally struck by the story of the Ridglan Farms beagles that were recently liberated by animal welfare activists and major animal welfare organizations in Dane County, Wisconsin. If you haven’t, let me fill you in:
The Ridglan Farms Biomedical Research Facility in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin was raided twice by animal rights activists this past March and April, with 23 beagles being freed in the process. The facility, which breeds thousands of dogs, has over 300 code violations and struck a deal in 2025 to discontinue its beagle breeding operations by July of 2026. More recently, Ridglan Farm’s attorney has created an agreement with Big Dog Ranch Rescue to transfer the remaining dogs in their facility.
These incidents however aren’t the only actions that have been taken in order to free Ridglan Farms’ dogs. In March, the Beagle Freedom Project and the Center for A Humane Economy led one of the largest laboratory dog rescue efforts in U.S. history by freeing 568 dogs from Ridglan Farms. In addition, in early June 2026, the organizations came together again to create a plan to help release 1,200 beagles from breeding and laboratory testing facilities.
The coverage of this story has made a significant impact in shifting the public’s attention to the mistreatment of animals at the hands of major corporations across the country, including those within the cosmetic industry, who often test their products on these animals. While these activists and organizations have helped to spark monumental change over the course of the new year, there’s still more to be done, especially by consumers like us.
An estimated 190 million animals are deemed disposable each year globally.
Between 17 million and 22 million of these animals are in the U.S. alone, held in breeding facilities and animal-testing laboratories across the country. However, it’s important to note that these official statistics remain flawed in their reflection of the number of animals impacted, as laboratory bred rats and mice are often unaccounted for. Trapped in loveless cages, these animals are restrained through force-feeding, drugging, poisoning, chemical burns without anesthesia, and subjected to amputations and premature deaths due to euthanization, asphyxiation, neck-breaking, and decapitation. These critters are among the household pets we’ve come to love and care for. Dogs, cats, mice, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rabbits, as well as other non-household animals such as monkeys and even horseshoe crabs are examples of creatures subjected to these horrors.
Animal testing practices can last from days to months, with researchers often utilizing a vast variety of inhumane methods without pain relievers, including skin and eye irritation tests, chemical substance dose tests, and “lethal dose” tests, which are solely conducted to determine the dosage amount that causes death. During these tests, animals are restrained and forced to endure actions that otherwise would’ve had perpetrators locked up for animal cruelty and negligence. However, in the case of Ridglan Farms, it wasn’t the researchers and leading individuals facing a maximum of 31 years in prison, but rather the activists that worked to free the dogs from these acts of cruelty and basic negligence.
To make matters worse, these tests are NOT a requirement of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act created by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and are highly flawed in their reflection of consumer-safety with products. An article within the University of Limerick’s Research Repository addresses this by saying, “Not only are animals biologically different from humans, but animals of the same species may also have biological differences. This has ‘led to the premature approval of chemicals and products which later prove to be harmful and fatal to humans'” (Donnellan, 271).
Organizational and political efforts have laid the foundation for consumers.
To combat these inhumane practices, many organizations have made significant efforts in not only freeing animals currently held in laboratories and breeding facilities, but also influencing state and federal legislation. Animal welfare organizations and activists have taken numerous steps to support the ban against animal-testing federally, while U.S. states such as California, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington have already passed laws ending the sale of animal-tested cosmetics in an effort to reduce the practice. However, many officials against the abolishment of animal-testing practices argue about the prioritization of consumer-safety, despite available alternatives to animal testing. According to Humane World for Animals, “Nearly 50 non-animal tests are already available, with many more in development…[that are] often more efficient and cost-effective.”
The drug and cosmetic industries are major offenders when it comes to the utilization of animal-testing practices. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines cosmetics as “articles intended to be applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness or altering the appearance without affecting the body’s structure or functions,” and includes personal hygiene products, fragrances, and baby care products, as well as makeup, skin care, body care, nail care, hair care, and specialty products. The cosmetic industry is just one of many that heavily revolves around consumer behavior, and consumers can majorly influence organizations within this industry to refrain from animal testing by shifting their business to cruelty-free brands that restrict these practices in the collection of ingredients and production of finished items.
Brands may be perpetrators, but consumers are not void of accountability.
Thankfully, many resources already exist in order to create more mindful and conscientious shoppers. One example includes the Leaping Bunny Program, which has created a free and up-to-date app that lists brands that sell cruelty-free products. In addition to this, PETA has created an ultimate destination for consumers that lists organizations that are vegan and cruelty-free, currently fighting for regulatory change, and currently engaging in animal-testing practices.
As of now, many popular, go-to cosmetics brands are currently listed as organizations that are involved in animal-testing practices, and boycotting brands such as these until practices are shifted away from animal-testing is an extremely effective way to help create change in this area. Some brands featured on PETA’s list that engage in these inhumane practices include Old Spice, Victoria’s Secret, Marc Jacobs Fragrances, Nars Cosmetics, Benefit Cosmetics, Pfizer, L’Oreal and its subsidiaries (La Roche-Posay, Lancome, Maybelline, etc.), as well as Estée Lauder and its subsidiaries (Jo Malone, Clinique, Michael Kors, Tom Ford, M.A.C. Cosmetics, etc.). However, the purpose of this section is not to encourage individuals to wastefully toss out their half-used products in an attempt to retaliate; the damage has already been done, and the goal isn’t to boost overconsumption. Instead, individuals should work to spread awareness of animal-testing practices and shift their future shopping habits to products created by brands that fight against and refuse to participate in animal testing.
In order for an organization to be distinguished as cruelty-free on PETA’s hub, the brand must ensure that “neither their ingredients nor finished products are tested on animals, and their suppliers or third parties follow the same standard.” The cosmetic organizations below are a few popular brands that are currently featured on PETA’s cruelty-free list and act as great, inexpensive alternatives. However, while many of these brands are highly rated by consumers, it’s important to do additional research on the products of these brands to ensure that the ingredients and purpose are best suited to fit one’s personal needs.
- Tree Hut
- Ulta Beauty Collection
- Organic Skin Co.
- Lip Smacker
- Kindness Beauty
- Herbal Essence
- Hawaiian Tropic
- Florence by Mills
- First Aid Beauty
- Essential Oil Company
- Drunk Elephant
- Color Me Beautiful
- Rare Beauty
- Bare Republic
- BareMinerals
In addition to boycotting, there are a variety of other actions that can be taken to help support the banning of animal testing in the drug and cosmetic industries, such as supporting state animal advocacy efforts and petitions, as well as animal welfare organizations. Some of these organizations include rescue centers, the Center for A Humane Economy, the Beagle Freedom Project, Humane Society International, and PETA, as well as the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS), the Animal Welfare Institute, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), and Cruelty Free International.
Individual behavior must change to shift the mainstream.
By spreading awareness of animal testing practices, contributing to and supporting state animal advocacy efforts and animal welfare organizations, as well as shifting shopping habits to cruelty-free brands, individuals can help to prevent the death of 17 to 22 million animals in the U.S. each year. While organizations and political figures are making tremendous efforts to spark monumental change, shifting the public’s attention to the mistreatment of animals at the hands of major national brands, as well as changing consumer behavior, is the fuel that’s needed for real change to ignite.