Pocan represents Wisconsin's 2nd District — the district where Ridglan operates. He has met this moment with moral clarity. Every other Wisconsin House rep and both senators should follow.
Co-chair of the Animal Protection Caucus. Co-sponsored every major welfare bill in his House career. Stepped in front on Ridglan before most of the delegation did.
Pocan acts on moral clarity. Thank him; tell him his leadership matters; ask him to bring colleagues along. He is the example others should follow.
💬 In their own words
“In my district, a beagle breeding facility called Ridglan Farms has hundreds of code violations, including serious harm to the health of the dogs, yet the NIH is still giving funding to groups that use the beagles from this facility. Today, I urged Secretary Kennedy to stop this practice.”
— X post · April 16, 2026“WI should start working with Ridglan Farms, a troubled WI breeder of beagles for research, to rehome 2,000 dogs now to give the dogs the lives they deserve. The breeder needs a plan to protect the dogs from inhumane treatment after a settlement agreement to close their breeding business.”
— X post · April 21, 2026“In my district, we have something called Ridglan Farms. That's a beagle breeder for research. They've had 311 code violations, including very serious harm to the health of the dogs.”
— News quote · April 16, 2026
🐶 What they did for the dogs
- April 2026: Wrote to HHS Sec. Kennedy demanding NIH stop funding research using Ridglan beagles
- April 2026: Pressed NIH leadership at a House hearing on beagle-testing policy
- April 2026: Publicly urged DATCP to work with Ridglan to rehome the 2,000 dogs before the breeding shutdown
- Career-long: Co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus
🔍 Personal animal facts
- •Publicly vegetarian — has discussed his vegetarianism in interviews and on social media for years.
- •Lives with rescue dogs (notably "Sid" the rescue, frequently featured on his social media).
- •Co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus.