Why Beagles Are Used in Cosmetic Testing, and What's Really Happening to Them in 2026

It is sad, but true. Beagles are the most commonly used dog breed in laboratory testing worldwide, including for cosmetic ingredients, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals and household products. They are chosen because they are small, gentle and trusting, which makes them easy for technicians to handle. Most spend their entire lives in indoor metal cages, are force-fed test substances through tubes, and are killed at the end of the study.

This article unpacks the why, the how, the current news that everyone is talking about, and the pathway to adoption.

Image Source: Toxicity.inc

Why are beagles used in animal testing?

The qualities that make beagles wonderful family pets are the very same qualities that make them targets for laboratory exploitation.

Beagles are:

• Small and easy to handle. Their size makes them simple to lift, restrain and house in stacked cages.
• Gentle and docile. They rarely bite, even when frightened or in pain.
• Trusting and people-pleasing. They continue seeking affection from the very technicians performing tests on them.
• Considered "robust" by the industry, which means they are seen as low-maintenance and predictable.

It is worth being clear that beagles are not used because they are biologically similar to humans. They are not. The reasons are entirely about convenience and cost.

According to Beagle Freedom Australia, beagles and greyhounds are the most commonly used dogs in Australian research and teaching. Globally, the United States, China, Japan and Australia are reported as the four largest users of beagles in laboratory settings.

Image Source: Toxicity.inc

How are beagles used in testing?

Beagles are used across several categories of testing, and the methods are confronting. The information below is drawn from public investigations and disclosures by organisations including Animals Australia, Animals International, Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society) and PETA.

Toxicity testing

Toxicity testing is the assessment of how much of a substance causes harm. Beagles are subjected to procedures including:

• Oral gavage, where a long plastic tube is forced down the throat and into the stomach, and test substances are pumped directly in. This may be repeated daily, sometimes for up to a year.
• Inhalation testing, where dogs are tethered and fitted with full-face masks that deliver chemical vapours into their lungs.
• Continuous infusion toxicity, where catheters are surgically implanted into veins for ongoing dosing.
• Dermal application, where substances are applied to shaved patches of skin or open wounds.

Reported physical effects include vomiting, weight loss, tremors, collapse, loss of limb movement, convulsions and death.

Pharmaceutical and drug testing

Regulators in most countries require new drugs to be tested on two species before human trials, and one of those species is typically a non-rodent such as a beagle or a primate. This applies not just to life-saving treatments but to everyday medicines, headache tablets, antihistamines and skin ointments.

A 2022 undercover investigation by Humane World for Animals at the Inotiv laboratory in Indiana documented beagle puppies being force-fed toxins and given injections, with dosing continuing even when dogs were vomiting, shaking, running fevers or struggling to breathe.

Agricultural and chemical testing

Pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and industrial chemicals are also tested on beagles. The most notorious example is the one-year toxicity test, where dogs are force-fed a chemical every day for twelve months before being killed and autopsied. A 2019 investigation in Michigan exposed beagles being force-fed fungicide for a Brazilian regulatory requirement that scientists, including some at Dow, had publicly described as unnecessary.

Cosmetic testing

While cosmetic testing on animals has been banned or restricted in countries including Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union, the picture is not as clean as the bans suggest. Many cosmetic ingredients are dual-use chemicals that can be tested under broader chemical safety regulations. Some markets, most notably China, still require or permit animal testing for certain imported cosmetics. Brands that sell into those markets cannot truthfully claim to be cruelty free, even if their products are not tested on animals at home.

Image Source: Toxicity.inc

The reality of a laboratory beagle's life

Most laboratory beagles never see grass, sunlight, a chew toy or a bed. They are bred in facilities where female dogs are made to give birth to repeated litters, and the puppies are sold on at a few weeks old.

Inside the lab, they are:

• Housed in barren indoor cages, often with metal floors.
• Tattooed with an identification number in their ear, never given a name.
• Subjected to "stress-induced psychosis" in some cases, where the stress of confinement and repeated dosing causes severe psychological breakdown.
• Sometimes "debarked" through surgical mutilation of the vocal cords, so the constant noise of distressed dogs is muted for the technicians.
• Killed at the end of the study, almost always by lethal injection, so their organs can be examined.

What makes this harder to sit with is something called the "caring–killing paradox". Many laboratory technicians genuinely care about the animals they work with, and the moral injury of having to harm them has been linked to PTSD-like symptoms, depression and chronic distress in workers themselves. The system causes suffering on both sides of the cage.

Image Source: Toxicity.inc

What's in the news right now

Two stories are dominating the conversation in 2026, and the timing matters because public awareness is what drives legislative change.

Ridglan Farms, Wisconsin

Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, is one of the two largest beagle breeding facilities in the United States, reported to house around 2,500 dogs at any given time. After eight years of pressure from animal advocates, including PETA and the Center for a Humane Economy, Ridglan agreed in October 2025 to surrender its breeding licence as of 1 July 2026 to avoid criminal prosecution on alleged animal cruelty charges.

Then things escalated.

On 15 March 2026, dozens of activists led by Wayne Hsiung carried out an "open rescue", entering the Ridglan compound in daylight. They left with around 22 to 23 beagles. Around 20 activists were arrested, including former Baywatch actor Alexandra Paul. A second attempted rescue on 18 April ended in clashes with law enforcement and tear gas, with no beagles taken.

In the past 24 hours, the story has shifted dramatically. Ridglan Farms has now agreed to transfer nearly 1,500 of its remaining beagles to Big Dog Ranch Rescue, a no-kill rescue facility in Florida. The dogs will be transported to partner agencies and rescue facilities in Florida and Alabama, given medical exams, microchipped, vaccinated and assessed for adoption. Many of these dogs have never walked on a leash, lived in a home or been toilet trained.

It is a profound shift, and one that has only happened because of years of sustained pressure, investigations and refusal to look away.

Animals Australia and the TOXICITY.inc campaign

Animals Australia has shared inside footage as part of the global TOXICITY.inc campaign, run in partnership with Animals International. The footage was gathered by a former lab worker across two UK testing plants and represents the first major exposé of toxicity testing in a decade.

It shows beagles tethered with full-face masks forced to inhale chemicals, dogs held in "metabolism cages" for urine and faeces collection, and animals dying during procedures. It also shows primates restrained in "primate chairs", mini-pigs with surgical wounds for dermal testing, and rats compressed into inhalation towers.

The campaign is also worth understanding for one statistic that should stop everyone in their tracks: more than 90 per cent of new drugs that pass animal testing fail in human trials. The system isn't just cruel, it's also a poor predictor of human safety.

Image Source: Toxicity.inc

The wider picture

A few other current threads worth knowing:

• A new whistleblower video from Marshall BioResources, one of the world's largest beagle breeders, surfaced in late 2024 showing beagles being trained to wear restrictive face masks before being sold to laboratories.
• The PETA-led shutdown of Envigo's Cumberland, Virginia breeding facility in 2022 freed approximately 4,000 beagles and led to the parent company closing the operation entirely.
• In the UK, 2,488 of 2,646 regulated dog experiments in 2024 were carried out on beagles, with 1,549 specifically bred for that purpose.
• Approximately 7,200 dogs are estimated to be used for research and teaching purposes in Australia each year, according to Humane Research Australia, although exact numbers are difficult to verify because not all states report or publish data.

How to adopt a rescued beagle in Australia

This is the part that turns awareness into action.

Beagle Freedom Australia is Australia's first sanctuary dedicated to rehabilitating and rehoming dogs released from research laboratories. They take in beagles (and other breeds, plus cats) from facilities all over Australia, vet-check them, and place them with adoptive families through a careful matching process.

A few things to know before applying:

• The adoption fee is $600 plus GST, which contributes to the cost of vet care, vaccinations, blood panels and dental work for each dog.
• Each beagle comes with a welcome pack including collar, harness, lead, bed, bowls, toys and starter food.
• These dogs are not leash trained, are not toilet trained and most will not yet recognise their own names. Patience is essential.
• Beagle Freedom Australia conducts a yard and fence check as part of the meet-and-greet, and offers 24/7 support to adopters for the entire life of the dog.
• A forever foster program is available for beagles with ongoing medical needs, removing the financial burden from adopters.

You can also support the cause without adopting by fostering, sponsoring an animal, or contributing to their wish list of supplies. Their website has details on all three pathways.

If you live overseas and are reading this, the international equivalents include Beagle Freedom Project (US-based, with rescues across 36 states and parts of Europe and Asia) and The Beagle Alliance in Canada.

What you can do beyond adoption

Adopting a rescued beagle is life-changing, and not everyone is in a position to do it. There are other meaningful actions worth considering:

1. Buy from genuinely cruelty-free brands. Look for brands certified by Cruelty Free International or Leaping Bunny, and check whether they sell into markets that mandate animal testing. At Wild & Cruelty Free, every brand we stock is vegan, cruelty free, Australian made and held to a sustainability standard. We do the vetting so you can shop with clarity.
2. Sign petitions and support legislative reform. New South Wales has now passed mandatory rehoming legislation for animals from research, and Victoria is in active consultation on similar reforms. Public pressure works.
3. Talk about it. Awareness is what shifted the Ridglan story from a fringe concern to front-page news. Share what you learn, follow organisations like Animals Australia, Beagle Freedom Australia and Humane World for Animals, and keep the conversation going.
4. Question your products. If your moisturiser, shampoo or makeup is made by a parent company that still tests on animals somewhere in the world, your money is funding that system. Switching brands is one of the most direct things you can do.

Frequently asked questions

Why are beagles specifically used and not other breeds? Their size, gentle temperament and willingness to please make them the easiest dogs to handle in a lab environment. Greyhounds are the second most commonly used breed in Australia for similar reasons.

Is cosmetic testing on animals banned in Australia? The Industrial Chemicals Act 2019 banned the use of new animal test data for ingredients used solely in cosmetics from 1 July 2020. However, ingredients with industrial uses beyond cosmetics can still be tested on animals under chemical safety regulations, and brands that export to markets requiring animal testing are not genuinely cruelty free.

Are there alternatives to animal testing? Yes, and they are growing rapidly. Organoids (mini lab-grown organs), organs-on-chips, advanced computational models and human-cell-based assays already produce more accurate human-relevant data than animal tests in many areas. The science is ahead of the regulation.

What happens to beagles after testing ends? Historically, almost all were killed and autopsied. Increasingly, organisations like Beagle Freedom Australia, Beagle Freedom Project and The Beagle Alliance are negotiating releases at the end of studies so the dogs can be rehabilitated and re-homed.

Can I visit Beagle Freedom Australia or attend an adoption event? Beagle Freedom Australia conducts the meet-and-greet at the adopter's home, not at their facility, so they can complete a yard and fence check. Visit their website for the current adoption process and available dogs.

 

Wild & Cruelty Free exists because once you know what's happening behind closed doors, you can't unknow it. Every product we stock is personally tested by me, vetted against four strict criteria, and chosen because the brands behind them are doing things the right way. One dollar from every order goes to an Australian animal sanctuary, because the work of rescue and rehabilitation is funded by people who care.

If this article has stayed with you, share it with someone who might also need to read it. Awareness is the first step. Action is the second.

With Love + Kindness,

Marisa

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Sources and further reading: Animals Australia, Beagle Freedom Australia, TOXICITY.inc, Humane World for Animals, PETA Australia, Humane Research Australia.