Hi John,

A year ago, Direct Action Everywhere was preparing for a very serious trial. Three activists faced 16 years in prison for rescuing three dogs from torture at a beagle factory farm and research facility called Ridglan Farms. It was infuriating to see my friends prosecuted for their compassion, while Ridglan got away with inflicting utter cruelty on thousands of defenseless dogs.

A year ago, I never predicted we would be where we are now.

Due to our collective persistence, this case completely flipped from animal rescuers facing prosecution for saving Julie, Lucy, and Anna, to Ridglan Farms facing prosecution for abusing them and thousands of other dogs. Last week, Wisconsin Judge Rhonda Lanford agreed to appoint an attorney to investigate and potentially prosecute Ridglan Farms for violating animal cruelty laws. Watch a short video explaining this important ruling.
This win happened because of all of us. After the state dropped the charges against DxE animal rescuers, hoping we’d all calm down and go home, we instead turned up the pressure.

Activists across the country united to take action in person and online. Even when District Attorney Ismael Ozanne ignored all our calls, emails, and protests, we kept fighting for the dogs inside Ridglan. Local advocacy groups and animal rights attorneys petitioned the court to get a special prosecutor assigned, given the District Attorney’s failure to prosecute Ridglan. And their petition won! 
Judge Lanford’s decision to appoint a special prosecutor has been celebrated by residents, covered positively by many media outlets, and even commended by legislators! Wisconsin Senator Habush Sinykin issued a press release yesterday acknowledging “the persistence of advocacy groups” in making this win happen and pledging to introduce legislation to put an end to the ongoing abuses at Ridglan Farms!

Thank you for your help with this victory. Nearly 1,000 people emailed the Dane County District Attorney’s Office calling for Ridglan Farms to be prosecuted. Not only were these emails helpful in building up attention on this issue, but they were also specifically noted in Judge Lanford’s ruling as part of the reason she is appointing a special prosecutor.

Can we count on your support once again? Our next Right to Rescue trial starts May 16th in Santa Rosa, California. DxE investigator Zoe Rosenberg is facing 5 and a half years in prison for rescuing four sick chickens from a Perdue slaughterhouse. Help us take on Perdue and flip this case around too! Join our online action team on Signal to get action alerts. (You’ll need to download the free Signal app here.)
For Julie, Lucy, Anna, and the thousands of dogs still suffering at Ridglan Farms, let’s keep the pressure up and finish what we’ve started.

Thank you,
Cassie King 
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