It was May 6, 1995, in a wooded area of North Enmore, Prince Edward Island. A shallow grave. A woman whose hands were tied behind her back. Seven months in the ground.

Shirley Ann Duguay was 32 years old. A mother of five. And from the moment investigators found her abandoned car covered in blood four days after she disappeared, everyone knew who was responsible. Her estranged partner had a violent history, a peace bond against him, and had written her a letter saying there was no point in living without her. Her father named him before police even finished the sentence.

The problem was that knowing and proving are two completely different things.

What followed was seven months of dead ends, a body found in a shallow grave, and a murder case built on circumstantial evidence that almost wasn't enough.

Until a detective remembered a white cat.

During a routine interview at the suspect's parents' house, Constable Roger Savoie of the RCMP had noticed a white cat sitting in the corner of the room. He filed it away. Kept going. And when forensic technicians found twenty-two white animal hairs inside a blood-soaked leather jacket linked to the crime — Savoie connected the dots.

The science to match those hairs to that specific cat didn't exist. No protocol. No database. No precedent anywhere in the world. Savoie called labs across North America. They told him they had no idea what he was talking about.

He found two scientists at the National Cancer Institute who were willing to build the methodology from scratch.

The result: one in seventy million. The chance that any other cat on Prince Edward Island could have contributed those hairs.

It was published in the journal Nature. It became the world's first use of animal DNA in a murder conviction — the founding precedent for every animal forensic DNA case that has followed in the thirty years since.

And the defense attorney, in his closing argument, said the truest thing anyone said in that trial: "Without the cat, the case falls flat."

He meant it as reasonable doubt.

The jury heard it as admission.

The cat's name was Snowball.

Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

FULL SHOW NOTES

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

This is Part 1 of The Silent Witnesses — a multi-case series within Paperleash covering cases where animals provided the forensic evidence that solved human crimes. No animal abuse. No cruelty. In these cases, the animal is the hero.

Case 2 — Chief (Seattle, 1998): Dog blood used to convict two men of murder. The first use of dog DNA in a US murder conviction. Coming soon.

Case 3 — Nellie's Duck (North Carolina, 2020): A pet duck leads investigators to a grandmother's remains. Coming soon.

SHIRLEY ANN DUGUAY — WHO SHE WAS

Shirley Ann Duguay was born October 11, 1962, on Prince Edward Island, Canada. She was four feet nine inches tall and weighed less than a hundred pounds. She had five children — three from before her relationship with Douglas Beamish, two with him. By every account of the people who knew her, she was funny, warm, and fiercely devoted to her children.

She spent fifteen years in a relationship with a man whose violence toward her was documented and on the legal record. In 1991, Beamish was served a peace bond — a Canadian legal mechanism used most commonly in domestic violence cases, requiring no contact with the victim and prohibiting possession of firearms. He violated its spirit consistently.

When they separated in 1992, Beamish wrote Shirley a letter saying that if they couldn't be together, there was no point in living.

In early 1993, Shirley moved to Prince Edward Island with her five children — away from Toronto, away from Beamish, away from fifteen years of documented violence. She got a new job. She rented a house near the beaches of Prince County. By October 1994, she was pursuing formal custody of her children through the courts.

She never finished the custody case.

On the night of October 3, 1994, her neighbors heard a couple screaming.

After that night, nobody heard from Shirley again.

Her body was found on May 6, 1995, in a shallow grave in the wooded area of North Enmore, Prince Edward Island. Her hands were tied behind her back. She had been beaten with a blunt object and strangled. She was 32 years old.

DOUGLAS LEO BEAMISH

Shirley's estranged common-law partner and the father of three of her five children. He had a criminal record in both Toronto and Prince Edward Island related to violence. At the time of Shirley's disappearance, he was on parole and subject to a peace bond. He was staying with his parents on Prince Edward Island — near where Shirley had relocated with her children.

He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder following the discovery of Shirley's body in May 1995. He was convicted of second-degree murder on August 1, 1996, by a jury in the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 18 years.

He maintained his innocence for 28 years. Both appeals — in 1998 and 1999 — were rejected.

In October 2022 — twenty-eight years after the murder — he appeared before the Parole Board of Canada via videolink and admitted guilt for the first time. He said:

"I don't know even where to begin to calculate what harm I've done. I've done more harm to Shirley's family, all over her extended family — all of Prince Edward Island. There's no way to gauge what impact this has had."

He also said: "It was easier to blame everybody else."

Parole timeline:

• 2013: First parole application — denied. Lack of remorse, high risk of reoffending with women.
• October 2022: First admission of guilt. 12-hour escorted absence granted.
• October 2024: Unescorted temporary passes — 72 hours; 60-day halfway house stay.
• May 2025: Day parole granted. Released to a halfway house.

Conditions of parole: Cannot consume alcohol or drugs. Cannot contact Shirley's family. Must report any romantic relationships with women to his parole officer immediately. Cannot return to Prince Edward Island.

SNOWBALL

A white domestic shorthair cat belonging to Beamish's parents, living in the home where Beamish was staying at the time of Shirley's disappearance and murder.

During a routine investigative interview at the Beamish family home, Constable Roger Savoie noticed Snowball in the corner of the room. He did not make note of it formally. He filed it away mentally and continued the investigation.

Months later, when forensic technicians found twenty-two white animal hairs inside the lining of a blood-soaked leather jacket found near where Shirley's body was eventually discovered, Savoie connected those hairs to the cat he had seen.

When Savoie went to collect a blood sample from Snowball for DNA testing, she fled — leading investigators on a thirty-minute chase through the house. Savoie later said: "It was almost like the cat knew that we were taking her in."

When her blood was finally collected, Savoie read Snowball her rights — the standard legal procedure applied to a highly unusual subject.

When Shirley's father Melvin Duguay later heard about this, he asked: "What'd the cat say?"

Savoie's answer: "Meow."

THE EVIDENCE

The abandoned car: Found October 7, 1994 — four days after Shirley disappeared. Blood spatter confirmed as Shirley's. A second blood type — not Shirley's — was also found. It was later matched to Beamish.

The leather jacket and sneakers: Found in a plastic bag during the initial search. The jacket was soaked in Shirley's blood. Beamish denied it was his.

The sneakers: Dr. Keith Bettles, a forensic podiatrist, cast Beamish's feet using Styrofoam molds filled with plaster of Paris. He compared the resulting molds to the wear pattern in the soles of the shoes. The wear pattern bore the physical imprint of Beamish's specific gait. Each person walks in a unique way that is pressed, over time, into the inner sole of a shoe. Those sneakers had been worn by Douglas Leo Beamish.

The hairs: Twenty to twenty-two white, brittle, long hairs found inside the lining of the jacket. Under microscope: thick mandalas (the core running through the center of each hair shaft) — indicating the hairs were animal, not human.

Snowball's DNA: Matched to the hairs on the jacket using feline microsatellite markers — sections of DNA known to vary between individuals. The methodology was developed from scratch by Dr. O'Brien and Dr. Menotti-Raymond specifically for this case.

The probability: One in seventy million — the chance any other cat on Prince Edward Island could have contributed those same hairs. Calculated using the product rule of approximation, the same methodology used in human DNA forensics, after 20 other cats from across the island were randomly tested to establish genetic diversity.

THE SCIENTISTS

Dr. Stephen O'Brien — Chief of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland. Spent decades studying hereditary illness in feline populations and had mapped feline genetics more thoroughly than almost anyone alive. Had never done a forensic DNA analysis. When Constable Savoie called him, he was intrigued. He partnered with Dr. Menotti-Raymond to develop the methodology entirely from scratch.

His description of Savoie's call: "Constable Savoie told me on the phone: 'Dr. O'Brien, I've looked all over the country — in fact all over the world — for an expert in cat DNA technology, because I would like very much to know whether or not the hairs that were in the lining of the jacket are those hairs from Snowball.'"

Dr. Marilyn Menotti-Raymond — Molecular geneticist and former student of Dr. O'Brien. Designed the 20-cat control group to establish the statistical frequency of Snowball's DNA profile across Prince Edward Island's feline population. Testified at trial. On the challenge they faced:

"We needed to know that some other cat on Prince Edward Island couldn't have contributed that hair. What if 25 percent of the cats on Prince Edward Island had the same DNA profile? Or 10 percent? Or even one in a hundred cats? So that's the next question you have to ask: what is the frequency of that profile?"

THE TRIAL

Case name: R. v. Beamish (D.L.) Court: Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island Verdict: Second-degree murder — August 1, 1996 Sentence: Life in prison, no parole for 18 years Defense attorney: John MacDougall

The prosecution presented: Shirley's blood on the jacket, Beamish's blood in the abandoned car, the podiatric evidence matching the sneakers to Beamish's gait, and Snowball's DNA — one in seventy million.

Defense attorney John MacDougall's closing argument attempted to undermine the cat DNA evidence as too novel and untested. The line he used — which has been quoted in forensic science literature, legal journals, and true crime media for thirty years:

"Without the cat, the case falls flat."

He meant it as reasonable doubt.

The jury heard it as admission.

The jury convicted.

WHAT SNOWBALL CHANGED — THE FORENSIC SCIENCE LEGACY

The findings of Dr. O'Brien and Dr. Menotti-Raymond were published in the journal Nature in 1996 — making the Snowball case the first documented use of animal DNA as forensic evidence in a murder conviction, anywhere in the world.

The methodology they developed became the template for all subsequent animal forensic DNA work:

• 1998, Seattle, Washington: Dog blood used to convict two men of the murders of Raquel Rivera and Jay Johnson. The dog, Chief, had also been killed. Dog blood found on the suspects' jackets was matched to Chief. First use of dog DNA to convict murderers in the United States. (Case 2 of The Silent Witnesses — coming soon.)
• United Kingdom: Dog saliva and blood matched to a defendant's two dogs — Tyson and Mia — in a separate murder case. First use of animal DNA techniques in a UK murder trial.
• 2026, Australia: A study by Flinders University in partnership with Victoria Police documented that cats and dogs actively transfer human DNA as they move through a home. A person who briefly touches a pet leaves detectable DNA on that animal's coat. As the pet moves through the environment, it distributes that DNA across surfaces, furniture, and other people. The forensic value of pets at crime scenes is even greater than the Snowball case established.

Every criminal who plans carefully for fingerprints — who wears gloves, wipes surfaces, rehearses an alibi — and forgets to think about the cat, has a Snowball problem.

KEY QUOTES — ALL VERIFIED AND ATTRIBUTED

Constable Roger Savoie (on searching for a scientist): "I called DNA testing labs. They had no idea what I was talking about."

Constable Roger Savoie (on catching Snowball): "It was almost like the cat knew that we were taking her in."

Melvin Duguay (Shirley's father, on the rights being read to Snowball): "What'd the cat say?" Savoie's answer: "Meow."

Dr. Marilyn Menotti-Raymond (on the challenge of the control group): "We needed to know that some other cat on Prince Edward Island couldn't have contributed that hair. What if 25 percent of the cats on Prince Edward Island had the same DNA profile? Or 10 percent? Or even one in a hundred cats?"

John MacDougall (defense attorney, closing argument): "Without the cat, the case falls flat."

Douglas Beamish (to Parole Board of Canada, October 2022): "I don't know even where to begin to calculate what harm I've done. There's no way to gauge what impact this has had."

Douglas Beamish (same hearing): "It was easier to blame everybody else."

Marie Arsenault (Shirley's sister, on Beamish's 2025 day parole): "He is able to now have day visits and parole and visits with his family where he can hug and hold them. Shirley, my sister, was an innocent victim."

THE FULL TIMELINE

RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING

The original scientific paper: O'Brien, S.J. & Menotti-Raymond, M. et al. (1996). "Identification of a Tiger and its Origins." Nature. Available through scientific databases.

Forensic Files — "Purr-fect Match" Season 7, Episode 7. Aired February 12, 2002. The Snowball case told on camera with interviews from investigators and scientists.

The 2026 Flinders University study: "Silent Witnesses: Pets Offer a Fur-ensic Tale" — Phys.org, February 2026. Documents how pets actively transfer DNA across environments.

IF THIS CASE MOVED YOU

Domestic violence resources:

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, these organizations can help:

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) | thehotline.org
• Crisis Text Line: Text START to 88788
• loveisrespect.org — resources specifically for relationship abuse

Shirley Duguay did everything right. She left. She moved. She got the legal protections available to her. The system did not protect her. Her daughter has become a public advocate for abused women, and her story is worth knowing beyond the forensic science case it produced.

ABOUT THE SILENT WITNESSES SERIES

The Silent Witnesses is an ongoing series within Paperleash covering cases where animals provided the evidence that solved human crimes. Each case is chosen specifically because the animal is the hero — not the victim.

Case 1: Snowball — White cat, Prince Edward Island, 1994. World's first murder conviction using animal DNA.

Case 2: Chief — Dog, Seattle, 1998. Dog blood used to convict two murderers. First use of dog DNA in a US murder conviction. Coming soon.

Case 3: Nellie's Duck — Pet duck, North Carolina, 2020. A duck leads investigators to a grandmother's remains. Coming soon.

SOURCES

• CBC News — Douglas Beamish parole coverage 2022, 2024, 2025: cbc.ca
• Wikipedia — Murder of Shirley Duguay
• Grokipedia — Murder of Shirley Duguay (comprehensive timeline)
• Encyclopedia.com — Snowball the Cat
• Nature (journal) — O'Brien and Menotti-Raymond, 1996
• Legal Legacy — "July 19, 1996: First Murder Conviction Based on Animal's DNA": legallegacy.wordpress.com
• Roanoke Times / Virginia Tech — "The Cat's Hair Told the Story," April 24, 1997
• Forensic Reader — Shirley Duguay & Douglas Beamish case study
• Forensic Files Files — full case analysis: forensicfilesfiles.com
• Criminal Discourse Podcast — Shirley Duguay & Animal DNA episode
• True Crime Archives — "Canadian Murder Solved: Cat DNA Links Douglas Beamish"
• Yahoo News Canada — "Beamish gets day parole 31 years after killing Shirley Ann Duguay," July 22, 2025
• Forensic Files — Season 7, Episode 7: "Purr-fect Match," February 12, 2002
• Phys.org — "Silent Witnesses: Pets Offer a Fur-ensic Tale," February 2026 (Flinders University / Victoria Police 2026 study)
• A&E True Crime — "How Animal DNA Puts Killers Behind Bars"
• EBSCO Research — Animal Evidence in Law

ABOUT PAPERLEASH

Paperleash investigates the cases prosecutors dismiss, legislators ignore, and corporations bury. The crimes that don't count — because the victims never got a voice in the courtroom.

The Silent Witnesses is the series where the animals speak anyway.

I'm Lori. Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

On June 17, 2026, at 2:47 in the afternoon, a family from India booked a horse-drawn carriage ride in Central Park. It was their first visit to New York City. The driver stepped away from his horse to take a photo of his passengers. Nobody was holding the reins. The horse bolted. Romanch Mahajan, 18 years old, watched his mother fall from the carriage — and jumped out to help her. His head hit the pavement. He died that evening.

His father Deepak told the New York Times: "My son, just to save his mother, he fell off."

It was the first human death in a carriage incident in Central Park history.

And it was the most recent chapter in a story that has been unfolding in this city for 168 years.

The ASPCA was founded in 1866 specifically in response to carriage horse abuse in New York City. Its original seal depicts a carriage operator beating a horse. A century and a half later, we are still having this conversation.

In this episode: how the industry actually works, who profits, why a $70 million business backed by one of America's most powerful transit unions has survived decades of pressure to shut it down, what the named horses — Aisha, Lady, Ryder — have in common, what the driver did on June 17th and why he hasn't been charged, what Romanch's Law would do, and what both sides said at the New York City Council hearing on July 15, 2026.

The carriage horse industry has two sides. Both of them are in this episode. This is Paperleash — we follow the paper. We let you decide.

But a boy is dead. And his father is on Zoom from India. And the industry's own union says the driver violated their protocols.

This is a crime the system hasn't counted yet.

Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

FULL SHOW NOTES

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY

This episode was recorded on July 15 and 16, 2026 — the day of and the day after the New York City Council Health Committee hearing on Romanch's Law (Intro 943). No vote has been scheduled. Romanch Mahajan's driver has not been charged. The bill may pass. It may die in committee.

Paperleash will cover what comes next. Follow wherever you get your podcasts to be notified when the follow-up episode drops.

ROMANCH MAHAJAN — WHO HE WAS

Romanch Mahajan was 18 years old. A young man from India on his family's first trip to New York City. He was in Central Park on June 17, 2026 with his parents — Deepak and Priya Mahajan — on what should have been a memory.

When Priya fell from the runaway carriage, Romanch did not hesitate. He jumped out to help her. His head hit the pavement. He was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center in critical condition. He died that evening.

His father Deepak testified before the New York City Council Health Committee via Zoom from India on July 15, 2026. He said:

"I cannot properly describe to you the real true fear inside that carriage. It was shaking. It was speeding. There was no one holding the reins, and we could do nothing but hold on to each other and scream."

"My son, just to save his mother, he fell off."

Romanch's aunt, Sovia Thukral, also testified at the July 15 hearing. She broke into tears at the witness table.

His death was the first human fatality in a carriage incident in Central Park history.

THE DRIVER AND THE HORSE

Ertan Gokdepe — licensed carriage driver, member of TWU Local 100. On June 17, 2026, he stepped away from his horse to photograph his passengers. He was, according to the union's own representative, at least "an arm's length" from his horse when Sampson bolted.

Alexander Kemp, Administrative Vice President of TWU Local 100, said publicly:

"A driver is not supposed to leave the carriage to take photos — ever."

The union acknowledged the violation of their own protocols immediately.

Sampson — a 7-year-old horse who had been working in Central Park for six weeks. He was retired from service following the incident.

As of July 15, 2026: Ertan Gokdepe has not been charged with any crime. The NYPD investigation is ongoing. The question of whether his conduct rises to criminal negligence is before the Manhattan DA's office, which has not publicly commented.

HOW THE INDUSTRY ACTUALLY WORKS

Not the romantic image. The financial reality.

68 licensed carriage medallions exist in New York City. The city stopped issuing new ones after World War II. A single medallion today sells for upwards of $300,000.

208 licensed drivers are currently active. The drivers are not the same as the medallion owners — in many cases, drivers pay to operate under a medallion owner's license. NYCLASS has characterized the drivers as misclassified independent contractors with no benefits, no overtime, and no guaranteed wage.

150+ horses currently stabled at Clinton Park Stables on West 52nd Street, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.

Fares set by city law: $72.22 for the first 20 minutes. $28.89 for each additional 10 minutes.

$70 million — estimated value of stable assets held by medallion owners (NYCLASS estimate).

$100,000/month — estimated cost of caring for all horses in the city (TWU estimate, funded by ride revenue).

The union: TWU Local 100 represents the carriage horse drivers. It also represents 40,000 subway and bus workers at the MTA — making it one of the most powerful labor forces in New York City politics. When TWU Local 100 treats a vote on carriage horses as a labor issue, that message carries the weight of 40,000 transit workers behind it.

THE NAMED HORSES — THEY DESERVE TO BE NAMED

Aisha — 2020. Video surfaced of carriage drivers blowing smoke into her face as she lay on the ground and flipped over in terror. NYCLASS documented 17 minutes of footage. Animal cruelty charges were called for. No charges were filed.

Lady — 2022. Died in a separate incident that reignited advocacy pressure.

Ryder — August 2022. A 14-year-old horse who collapsed in Hell's Kitchen in 84-degree heat after working since 9:30am with no water. His driver, Ian McKeever, 54, repeatedly pulled on his reins, yelled at him, and flogged him with a whip as he lay on the street unable to stand. Cell phone video went viral. McKeever was eventually arraigned on one count of overdriving, torturing, and injuring an animal — a Class A misdemeanor. Ryder was euthanized months later. One misdemeanor. For working a horse to death without water in 84-degree heat. Then flogging him as he lay dying.

Sampson — June 17, 2026. Retired from service after the incident that killed Romanch Mahajan.

The pattern in the year before Romanch's death:

• Last year: tourists jumped from a speeding runaway carriage
• May 26, 2026: two carriages collided in Central Park, hospitalizing both drivers
• The week before June 17: a horse died after eating a poisonous plant
• June 17, 2026: Romanch Mahajan — the first human death

Eight incidents in just over a year.

THE HISTORY — 168 YEARS

The carriages have been operating in and around Central Park since the 1850s.

1866: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — the ASPCA — was founded in New York City specifically in response to carriage horse abuse. The organization's original seal depicts a carriage operator beating a horse. That is who we were in 1866. That is what the ASPCA was founded to stop.

The fight has cycled through the same stages for over a century: a horse collapses or dies, activists demand a ban, politicians promise action, the union pushes back, a compromise is reached — usually poorly enforced regulations — and the industry continues.

2013: Bill de Blasio ran for mayor on an explicit campaign promise to ban carriage horses on his first day in office. He won. He served for twelve years. He did not ban carriage horses.

What's different now: For the first time in 168 years, a human being has died. City Council Speaker Julie Mendin publicly supports the ban. Mayor Zohran Mamdani supports its spirit. The political alignment between Speaker and Mayor is genuinely new.

THE JULY 15, 2026 CITY COUNCIL HEARING

The New York City Council Health Committee held a full public hearing on Romanch's Law (Intro 943) on July 15, 2026.

Who testified for the ban:

Deepak Mahajan — Romanch's father, via Zoom from India. Described the terror inside the runaway carriage. "My son, just to save his mother, he fell off."

Sovia Thukral — Romanch's aunt. Broke into tears at the witness table.

Edie Falco — actress, The Sopranos. Lifelong New Yorker. Has been fighting for this ban for forty years. Testified in person. Said:

"They have the right to a God-given — if that's what you believe — life, just as we do. The fact that there's anybody in this room that can look at an animal with the apparatus and the carriage and the people and the traffic and the sounds and the smells and the heat and say 'sure, yeah, that's reasonable' — the first time I saw that, 40 years ago, I thought: what is this?"

"It's time. It's time. It's time."

City Council Speaker Julie Menin: "The time to act is now. Nearly 70 percent of New Yorkers are supportive of phasing out this practice."

Who testified against the ban:

Alexander Kemp, TWU Local 100: "The legacy of the horse and carriage rides are synonymous with New York. We have to collectively figure out how to make it a safer industry."

Christina Hansen, TWU Local 100 driver: "Why weren't we here about banning tourist helicopters after six passengers died — or banning pedicabs when a driver died?"

Conner McHugh, medallion owner: Raised the real estate angle — the allegation that developer interest in Hell's Kitchen stables property is driving the ban campaign.

Onur Altintas, carriage owner: "The industry provides hundreds of jobs to drivers, stable hands, and others in horse-related trades. Car crashes and plane crashes are happening every single day."

Status after the hearing: No vote was scheduled. The hearing was the first step in the legislative process, not the last. Council Member Marte's staff said he is optimistic that with Speaker Menin's support, passage is "just a matter of time."

ROMANCH'S LAW — INTRO 943

Sponsor: Council Member Christopher Marte (D-Manhattan, District 1)

What it does:

• Ends issuance of new horse carriage licenses immediately upon passage
• Prohibits all horse carriage operations in New York City effective June 1, 2028
• Requires NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to establish a workforce development program for displaced drivers
• Prohibits horses from being sold for slaughter or transferred to another carriage industry
• Mandates humane disposition of all retired horses

Status as of July 16, 2026:

• Public hearing completed July 15, 2026
• No vote date set
• Speaker Menin's support expected to allow scheduling of a full Council vote
• Mayor Mamdani has not committed to signing as written — wants stronger worker protections

THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Will Ertan Gokdepe be charged? The NYPD investigation is ongoing. The Manhattan DA's office has not commented publicly. Ian McKeever was charged with a misdemeanor for flogging a dying horse. The question of what charge is appropriate when a driver's protocol violation results in a human death has not been answered.

Will Romanch's Law pass? The votes appear close to majority. But "close to majority" has happened before and collapsed under TWU pressure. The union's full political mobilization — advertising, endorsement threats, the weight of 40,000 transit workers — has not yet fully deployed.

What happens to the horses? The bill requires humane disposition. 150 horses over a two-year phase-out period need sanctuaries, farms, and funding. That infrastructure needs to be real. The bill's opponents are not wrong to raise this.

Who is really funding both sides? NYCLASS co-founder Steve Nislick is a real estate developer. Clinton Park Stables on West 52nd Street sits on prime Hell's Kitchen real estate. The union's allegation that developer money is driving the advocacy campaign has never been definitively proven or disproven. That money trail matters.

THE CELEBRITIES WHO SUPPORT THE BAN (documented)

Joaquin Phoenix, Billie Eilish, Finneas, Ricky Gervais, Sarah Silverman, Christopher Walken, Joan Jett, Kesha, Hilary Swank, Justin Theroux, Marisa Tomei, Kate Mara, Rooney Mara, Kaley Cuoco, Whitney Cummings, Noah Cyrus, Sadie Sink, Riley Keough, Christian Serratos, Christian Siriano, Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath), Maggie Baird, Edie Falco (testified in person July 15, 2026).

KEY PEOPLE — ALL VERIFIED

Romanch Mahajan, 18 — tourist from India. Killed June 17, 2026. First human death in a Central Park carriage incident in history. Jumped from a runaway carriage to help his mother. His death is the reason Intro 943 was renamed Romanch's Law.

Deepak Mahajan — Romanch's father. Testified via Zoom from India, July 15, 2026.

Priya Mahajan — Romanch's mother. Fell from the carriage. Survived with minor injuries.

Sovia Thukral — Romanch's aunt. Testified at the July 15 hearing.

Ertan Gokdepe — the driver. Stepped away to photograph passengers. Suspended. Not charged as of July 16, 2026.

Sampson — 7-year-old horse. Working in the park for six weeks. Retired after the incident.

Ian McKeever, 54 — driver in the Ryder case. Arraigned on one count of overdriving, torturing, and injuring an animal — Class A misdemeanor. Ryder died months later.

Council Member Christopher Marte (D-Manhattan, District 1) — bill sponsor. → council.nyc.gov/district-1

Council Speaker Julie Menin — publicly supports the ban.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani — supports the ban's spirit, wants stronger worker protections.

Council Majority Leader Shaun Abreu — announced support for the ban July 6, 2026.

Edie Falco — testified in person July 15. Has been fighting this fight for 40 years.

Alexander Kemp — Administrative VP, TWU Local 100. Acknowledged driver violated protocols.

Christina Hansen — carriage driver, TWU Local 100 representative.

Steve Nislick — co-founder and president of NYCLASS. Real estate developer.

THE NUMBERS

TAKE ACTION

Contact your NYC Council member: council.nyc.gov — find your representative and tell them where you stand on Romanch's Law (Intro 943)

Contact the bill's sponsor: Council Member Christopher Marte — council.nyc.gov/district-1

NYCLASS: nyclass.org

Animal Legal Defense Fund: aldf.org/project/romanchs-law

PETA NYC carriage horse action alert: peta.org

SOURCES

• Gothamist — July 15, 2026 hearing coverage
• amNewYork — July 15, 2026 City Council hearing
• W42ST — Edie Falco testimony, July 15, 2026
• ABC7 New York — July 13 and 15, 2026
• NBC New York — June 17 and July 15, 2026
• PIX11 — Mayor Mamdani response; hearing coverage
• City and State New York — "A Brief History of New York City's Neverending Horse Carriage Controversy," July 13, 2026
• City and State New York — "Legislation to ban horse carriages nears majority support," July 8, 2026
• CBS New York — Romanch Mahajan death coverage, June 2026
• NY Post / AOL — Deepak Mahajan family account
• West Side Rag — "Facing a Ban, Carriage Drivers Defend Their Industry," October 2025
• PETA — Edie Falco letter to NYC Mayor, September 2025
• NYCLASS — "Setting the Record Straight" on TWU Local 100, October 2025
• TWU Local 100 — twulocal100.org
• Humane World for Animals — "Will the NYC carriage horse era finally draw to a close?" February and June 2026
• Animal Legal Defense Fund — Romanch's Law petition
• NBC News — Ian McKeever charged in Ryder case

ABOUT THIS EPISODE FORMAT

This is Paperleash's first developing story episode — a format we will use when a story is breaking and too important to wait for a resolution that may be weeks or months away. The episode presents both sides fully. It documents what is known and what is not. And it commits to a follow-up episode when the next significant development occurs.

The follow-up episode will cover: whether Ertan Gokdepe is charged, the outcome of the Council vote on Romanch's Law, and the fate of the 150 horses currently stabled in Manhattan.

Follow Paperleash wherever you get your podcasts to be notified when it drops.

ABOUT PAPERLEASH

Paperleash investigates the cases prosecutors dismiss, legislators ignore, and corporations bury. The crimes that don't count — because the victims never got a voice in the courtroom.

Every episode follows the paper trail. Every episode is an act of advocacy.

I'm Lori. Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

This episode is Part 2 of a two-part arc. Dr. Rick — covers: Ridglan Farms' 60-year history, the 311 documented violations, Dr. Rick's conduct, the board that blinked, Wayne Hsiung's background, the March 15 rescue operation, the April 18 mass protest, the arrests, and the initial deal for 1,500 dogs.

This episode picks up where 5A ended.

DR. RICK'S DEFENSE — THE MATH HOMEWORK QUOTE

Before the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board voted to suspend Dr. Richard Van Domelen's license, he was permitted to address the board.

The board was looking at seventeen years of documented misconduct — since at least 2008:

• Delegating surgical procedures including cherry-eye removals and dental extractions to unlicensed, untrained staff
• Conducting procedures without proper anesthesia or pain management
• Failing to document medical necessity
• Failing to conduct proper pre-surgical exams
• Violating the board's own previously imposed restrictions — which had been put in place earlier in 2025 when the board gave him a second chance instead of suspending him outright
• Continuing violations even after an unannounced inspection on September 8, 2025 reviewed 150 surgical and medical records and found flagrant non-compliance

Van Domelen's response to seventeen years of documented conduct:

"When helping your child with math homework, do you simply tell your child that the answer is wrong, do it again, repetitively? Or do you explain what the mistake was and how he or she should do it correctly? That's all I'm asking for today."

The board voted unanimously to suspend his license on September 30, 2025.

Administrative Law Judge Angela Roy upheld the emergency suspension after a full day of testimony in November 2025.

Van Domelen remained at Ridglan as facility manager after the suspension.

His replacements: Ridglan brought in two licensed veterinarians — Williams and Ballmer — to replace him. Both were already under active investigation by the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board for professional misconduct. Williams had been previously disciplined in 2015 for failing to maintain adequate records following a patient's death.

Rise for Animals described the situation: "An industry so callous, so brazen that it appears to openly welcome two veterinarians under active investigation for professional misconduct to stand in for a colleague already suspended for professional misconduct."

VEB investigations: Investigations into Van Domelen, Williams, and Ballmer remain open as of July 13, 2026.

Criminal charges against Van Domelen: None filed as of July 13, 2026.

THE NASCO DETAIL

FOX6 Investigators reported that between 2019 and 2020 alone, Ridglan sold more than 1,700 dog carcasses to NASCO Education — a company that sells biological specimens for educational and research purposes. Ridglan was NASCO's number one supplier.

PETA's records document that nearly 275 beagle puppies born at Ridglan died there every year — before reaching a laboratory.

Ridglan's attorneys deflected questions about these numbers for months and offered no public accounting.

No charges were filed related to animal deaths inside the facility.

THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THIS CASE

These are the individuals and organizations whose sustained work — over years, in some cases nearly a decade — made the closure of Ridglan Farms possible.

Rebekah Robinson — President, Dane4Dogs Local Dane County advocacy organization. In March 2024, Dane4Dogs partnered with the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project and Alliance for Animals to petition a Wisconsin circuit court to appoint a special prosecutor after DA Ozanne refused to act. The petition succeeded. After the closure was announced: "We have been asking our political officials to help these dogs for almost 10 years." → dane4dogs.org

Amy Van Aartsen — Founder, The Marty Project More than five years documenting conditions at Ridglan and advocating for closure. After the announcement: "I'm just honestly so relieved that they're out of there and to have them finally close their doors like that is just the best announcement ever."

Wayne Pacelle — President, Center for a Humane Economy and Animal Wellness Action Led private negotiations with Ridglan beginning February 2026 — two months before the raids made headlines. His organization's attorney Joseph Goode negotiated the June 2026 transfer of the final 475 dogs and received the first confirmation from Ridglan's attorney Eric McLeod that the facility would be "winding down its operations." → centerforahumaneeconomy.org | animalwellnessaction.org

Tamara Drake — Director of Research and Regulatory Policy, Center for a Humane Economy Formally asked the NIH to stop funding experiments using beagles from Ridglan. "Taxpayer dollars should not underwrite cruelty and corner-cutting at facilities that repeatedly break the law."

Dane County Supervisor Michele Ritt Authored a county board resolution formally calling attention to concerns surrounding Ridglan. On the closure: "I didn't dare to hope that would actually happen. But here we are."

Shannon Keith — Founder, Beagle Freedom Project Primary placement organization for the rescued dogs. "Every one of these dogs will be treated as an individual deserving of care, healing, and a home." → beaglefreedomproject.org

Steffen Seitz — Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, University of Denver Sturm College of Law Legal counsel representing Dane4Dogs in the special prosecutor petition. Named the central injustice of this case: "DA Ozanne has shown no shortage of energy to pursue charges related to Ridglan Farms. Sadly, each time it has been to punish activists who have saved dogs, rather than to prosecute Ridglan for cruelty." → animalactivistlegal.org

Wayne Hsiung — Co-founder, Direct Action Everywhere Brought the special prosecutor idea to Dane4Dogs in March 2024. Testified at the October 2024 evidentiary hearing. Personally drew up and presented a criminal complaint to DA Ozanne's office. Led the March 15 rescue. Announced the April 18 mass action. Now facing trial. → righttorescue.com/ridglan | directactioneverywhere.com

HOW 2,110 DOGS GOT OUT — THE FULL TIMELINE

The behind-the-scenes negotiation most people don't know about:

February 2026 — Center for a Humane Economy opens private negotiations with Ridglan. The raids have not yet happened. The talks are going nowhere.

March 15, 2026 — Wayne Hsiung and ~100 activists enter Ridglan. 22 dogs removed. 8 seized by police and returned. 27 arrested. The story hits national news briefly.

April 18, 2026 — Over 1,000 activists converge on Ridglan. Tear gas, rubber bullets, OC Stinger Ball Grenades deployed. 29 arrested. Zero dogs removed. CNN, the New York Times, The Guardian, USA Today all cover it. The story becomes international.

April 28, 2026 — Ten days after the protest, Ridglan agrees to sell 1,500 dogs to Big Dog Ranch Rescue and Center for a Humane Economy. Their statement: "The decision to sell the dogs is not related to any specific event."

June 1, 2026 — Another 135 dogs purchased.

June 2, 2026 — Ridglan's attorney Eric McLeod calls the Center for a Humane Economy and proposes transfer of the remaining 475 dogs. During that call, McLeod confirms Ridglan will be "winding down its operations."

June 15, 2026 — Lauree Simmons holds press conference. Announces full permanent closure. "Not one dog will remain."

• 325 transferred June 15–16 immediately
• Final 150 puppies (completing a testing protocol) transferring by early August
• Ridglan agreed to donate the final group

Total: 2,110 beagles.

Placement organizations: Big Dog Ranch Rescue, Beagle Freedom Project, Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project, Dane County Humane Society, Wisconsin Federated Humane Societies, and partner rescues across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Florida, Nevada, New York, California, and beyond.

Every beagle that passed through the Dane County Humane Society found a Wisconsin home.

James (formerly YPP5) — the dog Wayne Hsiung handed through the broken window on March 15 — now lives with Hsiung, his wife Rose, and their dog Oliver in California.

THE LEGAL STATUS — AS OF JULY 13, 2026

Wayne Hsiung, Aditya Aswani, Michelle Lunsky, Dean Wyrzykowski

Dr. Richard Van Domelen

The Excessive Force Lawsuit

Filed April 23, 2026 as a federal class-action against Ridglan and Dane County officials. Voluntarily dismissed June 2026 by plaintiffs to protect the activists' Fifth Amendment rights in the criminal proceedings.

Nicholas Dickman's individual excessive force claim remains pending. No officer has faced disciplinary action.

Congress

Congressman Mark Pocan grilled HHS Secretary RFK Jr. on April 16, 2026 about NIH funding going to researchers purchasing from Ridglan. Kennedy on camera: "What you're describing should not be happening."

Pocan's committee amendment — targeting Ridglan's federal dog-breeding license — passed the House as part of the federal farm bill. Awaiting Senate action.

DA ISMAEL OZANNE — THE ACCOUNTABILITY GAP

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne was provided overwhelming evidence of animal cruelty at Ridglan Farms over the course of many years. He repeatedly declined to act.

When a circuit court judge — Rhonda Lanford — finally forced the appointment of a special prosecutor, the settlement that prosecutor reached allowed Ridglan to avoid criminal charges entirely in exchange for surrendering a breeding license.

DA Ozanne's office has pursued charges against the activists who rescued the dogs.

No charges were brought against the facility responsible for the documented conditions.

THE NEXT TARGET

Marshall BioResources Wayne County, New York. Over 20,000 beagles. International conglomerate. Eight times the size of Ridglan Farms.

Wayne Hsiung has publicly named Marshall as the next focus of his campaign. PETA has called on the USDA to revoke Marshall's breeding license. The Center for a Humane Economy and Animal Wellness Action are pursuing the FDA Modernization Act 3.0 — building on the 2022 legislation that ended an 84-year-old requirement that animal tests be used in drug development.

KEY QUOTES — ALL VERIFIED AND ATTRIBUTED

Lauree Simmons, CEO, Big Dog Ranch Rescue (June 15, 2026 press conference): "This marks a historic victory for the dogs of Ridglan Farms. No more breeding, no more selling, no more testing, and full closure. Not one dog will remain."

"They started within an hour coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled into people's laps. Every single one of them are super sweet. I just know they know they're safe."

Wayne Hsiung (outside Dane County courthouse, April 2026): "Sorry, this is TMI — but I have night terrors. I wake up screaming in the middle of the night. I wake my wife up because of some of the things that I saw at places like Ridglan Farms. And the thing that always makes me feel better is my wife will tell me and my family will tell me: 'Other people care too. It's not just you.' And that just gives you so much comfort that you know you're not alone."

Dr. Richard Van Domelen (before the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board): "When helping your child with math homework, do you simply tell your child that the answer is wrong, do it again, repetitively? Or do you explain what the mistake was and how he or she should do it correctly? That's all I'm asking for today."

Rebekah Robinson, Dane4Dogs (Wisconsin State Capitol protest): "We have been asking our political officials to help these dogs for almost 10 years."

Steffen Seitz, Animal Activist Legal Defense Project: "DA Ozanne has shown no shortage of energy to pursue charges related to Ridglan Farms. Sadly, each time it has been to punish activists who have saved dogs, rather than to prosecute Ridglan for cruelty."

Chris Carraway, Animal Activist Legal Defense Project: "We look forward to this trial, where Ridglan's cruelty and the alleged rescuers' compassion will be on full display before the jury and the public. We are confident a jury will find that animal cruelty was the crime here — and compassion commendable."

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (House Appropriations Committee, April 16, 2026): "What you're describing should not be happening."

Ridglan Farms (official statement on dog transfer): "The decision to sell the dogs is not related to any specific event."

HOW TO ADOPT A RIDGLAN BEAGLE

Dogs are being placed across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Florida, Nevada, New York, California, and beyond — with transport routes established monthly.

• Big Dog Ranch Rescue: bigdogranch.org
• Beagle Freedom Project: beaglefreedomproject.org
• Dane County Humane Society: giveshelter.org
• Wisconsin Humane Society: wihumane.org

SUPPORT THE PEOPLE WHO DID THIS

• Wayne Hsiung legal defense: righttorescue.com/ridglan
• Dane4Dogs: dane4dogs.org
• Beagle Freedom Project: beaglefreedomproject.org
• Big Dog Ranch Rescue: bigdogranch.org
• Center for a Humane Economy: centerforahumaneeconomy.org
• Animal Wellness Action: animalwellnessaction.org
• Animal Activist Legal Defense Project: animalactivistlegal.org
• Rise for Animals: riseforanimals.org
• Alliance for Animals: allianceforanimalsusa.org

SOURCES

• Isthmus / Madison, WI — full Ridglan series: isthmus.com
• Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) — closure and transfer coverage: wpr.org
• WMTV NBC15 Madison — charges, hearings, transfers: wmtv15news.com
• Wisconsin State Journal / Capital Times — trial dates, legal filings
• FOX6 Milwaukee — dog rescues, NASCO carcass investigation
• WKOW Madison — trial delay ruling
• WTMJ Milwaukee — trial date and charges
• Channel3000.com — closure confirmation
• Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin — June 15 announcement
• News8000.com — closure and transfer update
• Center for a Humane Economy press releases — transfer timeline (public)
• Big Dog Ranch Rescue — June 15 press conference statements
• Dane County Humane Society — giveshelter.org/news/ridglan-farms
• Dane4Dogs — dane4dogs.org/ridglan
• Right to Rescue / DxE — righttorescue.com/ridglan
• PETA — peta.org/news/ridglan-farms
• Rise for Animals — riseforanimals.org
• Wikipedia — "2026 Ridglan Farms protests" (summary of documented events)
• Ridglan Farms FAQ — ridglan.net/faq (Ridglan's own public statements)
• FindLaw — analysis of charges
• House Appropriations Committee hearing record — April 16, 2026
• New York Times — Nicholas Dickman injuries (photographic documentation)
• CNN / USA Today / The Guardian — April 18 protest coverage
• AP Wire — protest and transfer coverage

ABOUT PAPERLEASH

Paperleash investigates the cases prosecutors dismiss, legislators ignore, and corporations bury. The crimes that don't count — because the victims never got a voice in the courtroom.

Every episode follows the paper trail. Every episode is an act of advocacy.

I'm Lori. Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

Imagine finding out that the doctor responsible for your care has been performing surgeries on patients for twenty years. Without anesthesia. And when regulators find out — they let him keep going.

That is not a hypothetical. That is exactly what happened in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. And the patients were beagles.

Richard Van Domelen — goes by Dr. Rick — was the licensed veterinarian and facility manager of Ridglan Farms, a beagle breeding operation that sold research animals to the NIH, the CDC, the Mayo Clinic, and Bristol Myers Squibb. For decades, it operated almost entirely out of public view. By the time regulators got serious, they had documented 311 violations of Wisconsin administrative code. Whistleblowers testified that devocalization surgeries were being performed using paralytic agents instead of anesthesia — meaning the animals could feel everything but could not move. The reason: he didn't want to hear the noise. It was a spreadsheet decision.

The Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board had all of this in front of them in early 2025. They gave him a restricted license and let him keep going.

It took a surprise inspection, a unanimous emergency vote, and the revocation of his license in September 2025 to remove his credentials. He kept showing up anyway. The license was never really the point. The operation was the point.

And then a lawyer from California, who had been watching this for nearly a decade, ran out of patience.

This episode covers the full story — the machine Ridglan built, the regulatory failures that protected it, the thousand people who showed up with crowbars and sledgehammers on a cold April morning, the tear gas and rubber bullets and one man whose teeth were knocked out by police as he lay on the ground, and the deal that finally got 1,500 beagles out of those windowless buildings.

The man who designed a twenty-year system of deliberate suffering is facing retirement.

The man who reached through a broken window to hand a dog to safety is facing up to 31 years in prison.

That gap is what this episode is about.

This is Paperleash. True crime. The victims are animals.

Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

FULL SHOW NOTES

ABOUT THIS CASE

Ridglan Farms is a beagle breeding and research facility located in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin — a rural town in Dane County, approximately 25–30 miles outside Madison. Founded in 1966. Privately owned and family run for its entire 60-year history.

The facility bred beagles specifically for sale to pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations, and university laboratories. Documented clients include the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, the Mayo Clinic, and Bristol Myers Squibb.

Ridglan is one of only two large-scale beagle breeding facilities in the United States that supply animals for scientific research.

As of October 2025, Ridglan reached an agreement with the La Crosse County District Attorney that it would surrender its Wisconsin Department of Agriculture breeding license and cease selling dogs bred for biomedical research — effective no later than July 1, 2026.

DR. RICK — RICHARD VAN DOMELEN

Richard Van Domelen is a licensed veterinarian who served as facility manager and day-to-day operator of Ridglan Farms. He held a Wisconsin veterinary license in good standing for decades.

What whistleblowers testified (October 2024 formal hearing):

• Cherry eye removals performed by unlicensed staff without proper anesthesia
• Devocalization surgeries performed using paralytic agents rather than anesthesia — meaning animals were immobilized but fully conscious and able to feel pain
• The board later found this conduct had been ongoing for nearly 20 years

Why devocalization: To reduce noise. To make the facility quieter and cheaper to operate. Not cruelty for cruelty's sake — a cost and efficiency decision. That is what makes it so cold.

The board's own language in its final findings described Van Domelen as someone who "does not abide by many of the rules and laws pertaining to veterinary medicine" and poses a risk to "public health, safety, and welfare."

License revoked: September 30, 2025 — following an emergency unanimous vote by the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board, after a surprise inspection found continued violations of the stipulated agreement issued in March 2025.

What happened after revocation: He remained at Ridglan as facility manager. The license governed his ability to practice veterinary medicine — it did not govern his ability to manage a business. He lost the paperwork. He kept the power.

Criminal charges: A special prosecutor was appointed by a Wisconsin Circuit Court in 2025 to investigate alleged violations of state animal cruelty laws. As of this recording, no criminal charges have been filed against Van Domelen.The special prosecutor declined to pursue criminal charges against Ridglan in exchange for the facility surrendering its breeding license by July 1, 2026.

THE 311 VIOLATIONS

Wisconsin Department of Agriculture inspection records documented 311 violations of Wisconsin administrative code at Ridglan Farms. Violations began appearing in records approximately 2016 and accumulated over subsequent years.

Documented violations included failing to handle animals in a manner that "does not cause physical harm or unnecessary injury" — the minimum standard of care under Wisconsin law.

The USDA issued consistently positive inspection results throughout the same period.

THE REGULATORY FAILURE — THE BOARD BLINKED

Early 2025: Dane4Dogs and the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project file a formal complaint with the Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board requesting revocation of Van Domelen's license. They present whistleblower testimony, documented violations, and former employee accounts.

March 2025: The board issues a stipulated agreement — restricting what Van Domelen can do while the investigation continues. His license remains active. He remains in charge.

September 2025: A surprise inspection finds Van Domelen in violation of the stipulated agreement's conditions. Record-keeping problems documented on top of existing violations.

September 30, 2025: Emergency board vote. Unanimous. License suspended.

After suspension: Van Domelen continues working at Ridglan as facility manager. The license revocation does not legally require him to leave the property or cease his management role.

WAYNE HSIUNG AND DIRECT ACTION EVERYWHERE

Wayne Hsiung, 44, is a California attorney and co-founder of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), a national animal rights organization. He had been monitoring Ridglan since at least 2017, when a six-person DxE team attempted a small-scale rescue at the facility. No animals were removed. The world did not notice.

Note on prior legal history: Hsiung has prior convictions related to animal rescue actions. In 2023 he was convicted of felony charges stemming from trespassing and removing chickens and ducks from two Sonoma County, California farms. He was ordered in late 2025 to pay approximately $200,000 in restitution and received a 90-day jail sentence and two years of probation. He has also been acquitted in separate cases — including a 2022 Utah jury acquittal on burglary and theft charges for removing piglets from a Smithfield Foods facility. His legal record is complicated and contested; it is presented here in full for transparency.

The March 15, 2026 rescue: Between 60 and 100 activists converged on Ridglan before dawn. They breached the perimeter fence and entered one of the buildings. 22 beagles were removed. 27 people were arrested. Hsiung was arrested while reportedly attempting to serve legal papers. He had used tools including a sledgehammer and crowbar to breach the building during the operation.

The dog he personally removed from a cage through a broken window — serial number YPP5 — was later named James. James now lives with Hsiung, his wife Rose, and their dog Oliver in California.

After March: Ridglan fortified the property. Trenches. Hay bales. Barbed wire. Reports of electric fencing. Seventeen law enforcement agencies coordinated a response. Hsiung publicly announced a second mass rescue for April 19th.

The April 18–19, 2026 mass rescue:

• Hsiung called the action early — Saturday, April 18th, one day before the announced date
• More than 1,000 activists converged on Ridglan Farms from across the country and around the world
• Participants included UW-Madison law students, a former Baywatch actress named Alexandra Paul (who was arrested), and people who had traveled internationally
• Law enforcement deployed: tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and OC Stinger Ball Grenades — a crowd control device condemned by Amnesty International and whose use has been linked to cancer
• Rounds fired every 5–15 minutes. Hundreds of people gassed.
• Nicholas Dickman: An activist who came through a cut in the perimeter fence. According to reporting by the New York Times with photographic documentation, police kicked and beat Dickman as he lay on the ground, knocking out his front teeth with steel-toed boots. He was then arrested.
• 25 people arrested that day. Two broken noses. Multiple rubber bullet injuries.
• Zero additional animals removed.
• A former firefighter appeared at the Wisconsin State Capitol two days later — chemical burns still visible on his face — and told the crowd that what he witnessed at Ridglan was worse than what he had seen on Chicago police drug busts.

Hsiung's charges (as of this recording):

Wayne Hsiung has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges connected to the March protest and dog rescue at Ridglan Farms. He faces up to 31 years in prison if convicted. His next court date is June 2, 2026.

Co-defendants: Aditya Aswani, Michelle Lunsky, and Dean Wyrzykowski — all facing felony burglary charges. All pleaded not guilty.

The case will now move toward trial, where prosecutors would need to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hsiung outside the courthouse after his April 29 preliminary hearing: "We have never had this much evidence of animal abuse in an open rescue, probably in history. And because of that, this case demonstrates exactly why open rescue is the right strategy."

The federal lawsuit: Activists filed a federal excessive force lawsuit alleging that Dane County officials actively conspired with Ridglan Farms to violate protesters' constitutional rights. The lawsuit is pending.

Nicholas Dickman: Federal excessive force lawsuit pending. No officer involved has faced disciplinary action as of this recording.

THE CONGRESSIONAL MOMENT

April 16, 2026 — three days before the mass raid — Wisconsin Congressman Mark Pocan raised Ridglan Farms directly with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a formal congressional hearing. He pointed out that the NIH was still funding researchers purchasing animals from a facility with 311 documented violations whose lead veterinarian had just had his license revoked for posing a risk to public health and welfare.

RFK Jr. was on the record being asked about this. In Congress. On camera.

THE DEAL — AND THE DOGS

April 28–29, 2026: Big Dog Ranch Rescue and the Center for a Humane Economy entered into a confidential agreement with Ridglan Farms for the transfer of at least 1,500 beagles for an undisclosed monetary payment — confirmed to be well under $1 million.

"For many of these beagles, this moment marks the first step toward a completely different life and will see sunshine and grass for the very first time," the statement read.

May 1, 2026: Dog transfers begin.

Big Dog Ranch Rescue has now completed removal of the 1,000 beagles it purchased. Dogs have been transported to facilities in Florida and Alabama for medical exams, microchipping, vaccinations, and placement.

Center for a Humane Economy and Big Dog Ranch understand that Ridglan Farms continues to house approximately 500 other dogs. Both organizations are committed to continuing to work to secure ownership of those animals.

Dogs have been placed across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Florida, Nevada, New York, and California.

Lauree Simmons, founder and president of Big Dog Ranch Rescue: "They started within an hour coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled into people's laps. Every single one of them are super sweet. I just know they know they're safe."

Debbie Gibson and Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) appeared at the Dane County Humane Society holding rescued beagles and calling for an end to animal testing.

Alexandra Paul (Baywatch) — arrested during the April raid — was among those who had come to advocate for the dogs.

WHERE EVERYTHING STANDS AS OF THIS RECORDING

THE GAP

Wayne Hsiung reached through a broken window and handed a dog to safety. He is facing up to 31 years in federal prison.

Richard Van Domelen designed a twenty-year system of deliberate suffering. He is facing retirement.

That gap is not an accident. It is a choice made by a legal system that has decided, consistently and clearly, that the act of exposing cruelty is more prosecutable than the act of committing it.

ORGANIZATIONS — SUPPORT THEIR WORK

• Direct Action Everywhere (DxE): directactioneverywhere.com — Wayne Hsiung legal defense updates
• Big Dog Ranch Rescue: bigdogranch.org — beagle adoption information; dogs available across the US
• Beagle Freedom Project: beaglefreedomproject.org — ongoing placements and advocacy
• Dane4Dogs: The local Dane County organization that filed the original license revocation complaint
• Center for a Humane Economy: centerforahumaneeconomy.org — negotiated the purchase agreement; continuing to work on remaining 500 dogs
• Animal Activist Legal Defense Project: Legal support for activists facing charges
• Dane County Humane Society: giveshelter.org — coordinated intake and placement of rescued dogs

HOW TO ADOPT A RIDGLAN BEAGLE

Dogs have been placed across Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Florida, Nevada, New York, and beyond — with transport routes being established monthly. Contact Big Dog Ranch Rescue at bigdogranch.org or the Beagle Freedom Project at beaglefreedomproject.org for current adoption availability.

SOURCES

• Wisconsin Veterinary Examining Board records (public) — stipulated agreement March 2025, emergency suspension September 30, 2025
• Wisconsin Department of Agriculture inspection reports — 311 violations (public record)
• Dane County Circuit Court — Hsiung arraignment, charges, preliminary hearing April 29, 2026
• WMTV15 (NBC Madison) — ongoing Ridglan coverage: wmtv15news.com
• Wisconsin State Journal / WisLawJournal — wmtv15news.com/2026/04/29/dane-county-case-against-suspect-ridglan-farms-break-in-moves-forward/
• Channel3000.com — Hsiung plea: channel3000.com
• WSAW — charges filed: wsaw.com/2026/04/22/charges-filed-against-4-people-accused-ridglan-farms-march-break-in/
• Spectrum News 1 — beagle deal: spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2026/04/29/ridglan-farms-beagles-dog-rescue
• WTMJ — Big Dog Ranch completion: wtmj.com/news/2026/05/07/big-dog-ranch-rescue-completes-ridglan-beagle-removal/
• WPR — transfer update: wpr.org/news/welfare-organizations-complete-transfer-of-hundreds-of-ridglan-farms-beagles
• FOX6 Milwaukee — adopted dog stories: fox6now.com/news/ridglan-farms-beagles-rescued-photos-052726
• Dane County Humane Society statement: giveshelter.org/news/ridglan-farms
• AOL / Alexandra Paul arrest: aol.com/entertainment/baywatch-star-alexandra-paul-arrested-121933026.html
• New York Times — Nicholas Dickman injuries (photographic documentation)
• Seehafer News — Hsiung bond and trial: seehafernews.com/2026/05/01/accused-ridglan-protest-leader-heading-to-trial/
• Congressional hearing record — Rep. Pocan / RFK Jr. exchange, April 16, 2026

ABOUT PAPERLEASH

Paperleash is a true crime podcast documenting crimes — and systems — in the animal welfare world. Every case is real. Every detail is verified. Every episode is an act of advocacy.

I'm Lori. Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

FULL EPISODE DESCRIPTION

(Apple Podcasts / Spotify — under 4,000 characters)

In July 2019, Beyond Meat stock hit $234.90 per share. The company was valued at nearly $14 billion. My Baby Boomer parents had it in the freezer. Not because they were vegans. Because it was working its way into the mainstream — into the shopping carts of people who had never thought twice about what was in their burger.

At its peak, researchers estimated that the plant-based meat industry was sparing approximately 250,000 animals from slaughter every single year. Not because of legislation. Not because of protests. Because people were just choosing differently.

And then someone decided that couldn't stand.

What followed was one of the most coordinated, funded, and deliberately invisible influence campaigns I have ever documented. A $5 million Super Bowl ad designed to make you afraid of a plant fiber also found in bread and ice cream. Forty-two million dollars a year in mandatory farmer tax dollars with a line item in the public budget for — and I am reading directly — "nutrition-influencer relations." A dark money lobbying group with documented ties to Big Tobacco calling a veggie burger a chemical laxative on national television.

The influencers telling you plant-based meat is Frankenfood? Some of them were a funded operation. And you were paying into that system without knowing it.

Meanwhile: the industry protecting itself from plant-based competition sells you sodium nitrite in your hot dog — a substance the World Health Organization classifies as a carcinogen linked to colorectal cancer. No warning label. No Super Bowl ad. No concern.

Beyond Meat stock is currently trading at under a dollar. The company received a Nasdaq delisting notice in April 2026. And those 250,000 animals being spared from slaughter every year? They're back in the math.

This episode follows the money. All of it. The lobbying budgets, the influencer contracts, the industry front groups, and the specific, documented campaign to make you distrust the most promising alternative to factory farming in a generation.

This is Paperleash. True crime. The victims are animals.

Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

FULL SHOW NOTES

WHAT THIS EPISODE COVERS

• How Beyond Meat went from a $14 billion valuation to a Nasdaq delisting notice in under seven years
• The Center for Consumer Freedom — who funds it, what it does, and its documented history of running influence campaigns for tobacco, alcohol, and now meat industries
• The Beef Checkoff Program — what it is, how it's funded, and what "nutrition-influencer relations" actually means in practice
• The specific Super Bowl LIV ad that targeted methylcellulose — what the ingredient actually is and why the campaign was medically misleading
• The sodium nitrite double standard — why the industry attacking plant-based meat for its ingredients sells a WHO Group 1 carcinogen in its own products with no public accountability
• What 250,000 animals a year actually looks like — and what happens to them when a market alternative collapses
• The Beef Checkoff's mandatory assessment structure — how cattle farmers are legally required to fund a marketing campaign they may not agree with
• What you can do

THE NUMBERS

Beyond Meat's collapse — verified stock data:

• IPO: May 2, 2019 at $25/share
• All-time high: $234.90 — July 26, 2019
• Peak market valuation: approximately $14 billion
• Current price (as of May 2026): approximately $0.97/share
• Decline from peak: approximately 99%
• April 9, 2026: Beyond Meat received a formal written notice from Nasdaq's Listing Qualifications Department regarding compliance requirements
• Q1 2026 revenue: $58.2 million — a 15.3% year-over-year decline

The Beef Checkoff:

• Annual budget: approximately $42.2 million — funded by mandatory assessments on cattle sales
• The assessment: $1 per head of cattle sold, collected by the USDA
• Line item documented in public budget filings: "nutrition-influencer relations"
• The Checkoff is administered by the Cattlemen's Beef Board and overseen by USDA

The CCF Super Bowl ad:

• Network: ran regionally in the Washington D.C. market during Super Bowl LIV, February 2, 2020
• Estimated spend: $5 million
• Target ingredient: methylcellulose — a plant fiber derived from cellulose, also used in bread, ice cream, salad dressings, and as a fiber supplement
• The ad called it a "chemical laxative" — a description that food scientists and the FDA do not support as an accurate characterization of dietary use

Sodium nitrite:

• Found in processed meats including hot dogs, bacon, and deli meats
• Classified by the World Health Organization as a Group 1 carcinogen when consumed as processed meat — the same category as tobacco and asbestos
• No mandatory warning label required in the United States
• No industry-funded Super Bowl ad campaign acknowledging the risk

THE CENTER FOR CONSUMER FREEDOM — WHO ARE THEY?

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit lobbying organization founded by Rick Berman — a PR consultant sometimes referred to in the press as "Dr. Evil" for his work running industry-funded campaigns against public health advocates.

The CCF has historically run campaigns on behalf of:

• The tobacco industry (against anti-smoking campaigns)
• The alcohol industry (against drunk driving legislation)
• The restaurant industry (against menu calorie labeling)
• The meat and agriculture industry (against plant-based alternatives)

The CCF does not publicly disclose its donors. Investigative reporting and leaked documents have connected its funding to major food and beverage corporations.

The Super Bowl LIV ad targeting plant-based meat ingredients was produced and paid for by CCF. The ad ran in the Washington D.C. market — strategically targeted at lawmakers and policy influencers — during the most-watched television event of the year.

THE BEEF CHECKOFF — HOW MANDATORY FARMER MONEY FUNDS INFLUENCERS

The Beef Checkoff Program is a federal marketing program established by the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985. Every time cattle are sold in the United States, $1 per head is assessed and collected — whether the individual farmer agrees with how the money is spent or not.

The program generates approximately $42.2 million annually. The stated purpose is generic beef promotion. The documented budget includes a line item for "nutrition-influencer relations."

This means:

• A cattle farmer who personally supports plant-based alternatives is legally required to fund a campaign against them
• Influencers paid through this program may not disclose the source of their funding
• Consumers watching those influencers have no way of knowing they are watching a funded industry campaign

Several cattle farmers have legally challenged the mandatory assessment on First Amendment grounds. The Supreme Court has ruled on Checkoff-adjacent cases multiple times. The program remains in place.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 250,000 ANIMALS

At the peak of the plant-based meat market, researchers at the Good Food Institute estimated that the industry was displacing a meaningful percentage of conventional meat consumption. Various analyses suggested that at peak market penetration, plant-based meat companies were sparing approximately 250,000 animals from slaughter annually — through direct displacement of conventional meat in retail and foodservice channels.

This figure is an estimate based on displacement modeling, not a precise count. It is cited in the episode as a research-based approximation and is presented as such.

As plant-based meat sales declined — driven by a combination of price pressure, supply chain issues, and the coordinated narrative campaign documented in this episode — that displacement effect declined proportionally.

The animals that were being spared are back in the system.

THE SODIUM NITRITE DOUBLE STANDARD — DOCUMENTED

What it is: Sodium nitrite is a preservative and color fixative used in processed meats including hot dogs, bacon, salami, and deli meats.

What the science says: The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen — meaning there is sufficient evidence that consumption causes cancer, specifically colorectal cancer. This is the same classification tier as tobacco smoking and asbestos exposure. The nitrite chemistry is a primary mechanism identified in the link.

What the label says: Nothing mandatory. There is no federally required cancer warning on processed meat products in the United States.

The contrast: The same industry that spent $5 million on a Super Bowl ad calling methylcellulose — a safe plant fiber — a "chemical laxative" sells a product containing a WHO Group 1 carcinogen with no warning, no disclosure campaign, and no public accountability.

This episode documents that contrast and what it reveals about the true motivation of the campaign.

A NOTE ON MARS/MARS WRIGLEY

This episode does not reference Mars, Inc. or Mars Wrigley in any context. Any research or sourcing connecting pet food or confectionery industries to plant-based meat adjacent issues has been excluded from this episode entirely out of an abundance of caution regarding existing professional relationships.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Beyond Meat financial data:

• Yahoo Finance BYND historical data: finance.yahoo.com/quote/BYND
• Beyond Meat investor relations (Nasdaq notice, Q1 2026): investors.beyondmeat.com
• WallStreetZen BYND historical: wallstreetzen.com/stocks/us/nasdaq/bynd

The Center for Consumer Freedom:

• CCF website: consumerfreedom.com
• Rick Berman / CCF background: SourceWatch entry at sourcewatch.org
• The Super Bowl LIV ad: consumerfreedom.com/tv-ad/synthetic-meat-spelling-bee/
• USA Today coverage of the ad (Feb 2020): usatoday.com

The Beef Checkoff:

• USDA Beef Checkoff overview: ams.usda.gov/beef-checkoff
• Cattlemen's Beef Board public budget filings: beefboard.org
• First Amendment challenges: multiple federal circuit court cases, publicly documented

Sodium nitrite / processed meat:

• WHO IARC classification — processed meat as Group 1 carcinogen: iarc.who.int
• IARC Monographs Volume 114 (2015): the primary scientific document
• Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health — processed meat and cancer: hsph.harvard.edu

Plant-based meat displacement research:

• Good Food Institute market research and displacement modeling: gfi.org
• SPINS retail sales data (cited in GFI reporting)

General background:

• Bloomberg — CCF funding and Berman background
• The Guardian — "Big Meat's Disinformation Campaign Against Plant-Based Alternatives"
• New York Times — "The Meat Industry's Playbook"

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Read ingredient labels — on everything. Methylcellulose is a safe plant fiber. Sodium nitrite is a WHO-classified carcinogen. The industry that funded a Super Bowl ad about the former sells you the latter without mentioning it. You deserve to know what is in your food.

Understand how mandatory checkoffs work. The Beef, Pork, and Dairy Checkoff programs collect billions in mandatory farmer assessments annually and spend them on marketing and influencer campaigns. This is not a conspiracy — it is federal law, publicly documented, and findable at the USDA website.

Look up who funds the influencers you trust. Influencers are not required to disclose when their talking points originate from an industry-funded organization rather than independent research. Look for primary sources. Ask who benefits from the claim being made.

Support the Good Food Institute. GFI is the primary nonprofit doing research and advocacy on behalf of alternative protein development. Their research is public and free at gfi.org.

ABOUT PAPERLEASH

Paperleash is a true crime podcast documenting crimes — and systems — in the animal welfare world. Every case is real. Every detail is verified. And every episode you listen to is an act of advocacy.

I'm Lori. Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

Within months he had millions of followers.

He posted five times a day. Baby lions sleeping on his chest. Tiger cubs that fit in the palm of a hand. Stray dogs curled up with newborn leopards. He gave every animal a name. He told their stories. He called himself Papa Bear and his followers his army. At its peak, Black Jaguar White Tiger had over 8 million Instagram followers. Khloe Kardashian visited. Lewis Hamilton named a lion after himself. Paris Hilton came. The Backstreet Boys came. The content was some of the most emotionally compelling animal material on the internet.

I was one of those 8 million followers. I knew the animals by name. I donated. I believed in this completely.

And then he invited me.

He said I could sleep in the casita. Alone. With the baby lions.

My mom talked me out of it. And I have thought many times since about what might have happened if she hadn't.

Because on July 5, 2022, sixty armed officers raided that property in Mexico City. What they found inside bore no resemblance to the Instagram feed. Mexico's prosecutors issued a formal statement: the animals had devoured themselves to avoid starvation. Investigators called it a holocaust for the animals. 177 felines seized. Mass graves found on the property. A former employee who had documented the conditions for two years testified on camera — and her testimony is what triggered the raid that got 200 animals out of there.

Eduardo Serio was formally indicted in January 2023 for money laundering and species trafficking.

He has not been arrested. His Instagram is still active.

Not one celebrity has said a single public word.

This episode covers the full story — the rise, the machine, the warnings nobody listened to, the women he attacked when they tried to tell the truth, the whistleblower who refused to stop, and the specific psychology of a man who understood that the most dangerous con is the one built on something people genuinely love.

This is Paperleash. True crime. The victims are animals.

Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

FULL SHOW NOTES

ABOUT THIS CASE

Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation (BJWT) was a Mexican wildlife organization founded in October 2013 by Eduardo Mauricio Moisés Serio in Monterrey, Mexico. At its peak it claimed to house hundreds of rescued big cats and other animals on a 30-hectare property in the Ajusco neighborhood on the southern edge of Mexico City.

The foundation was never accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. It was never officially inspected by the Mexican government during its entire operation. It was registered not as a sanctuary but as a PIMVS — an intensive breeding site and zoological entertainment facility — under Mexican law.

On July 5, 2022, PROFEPA — Mexico's Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection — raided the property with 60 officers from the Ministry of Citizen Security. They seized 177 felines, 17 monkeys, 4 dogs, 2 donkeys, and 2 coyotes. Many animals required immediate emergency veterinary care. Some did not survive.

Eduardo Serio was formally indicted in January 2023 on charges of money laundering and species trafficking. As of this recording, he is a wanted man in Mexico and has not been arrested.

EDUARDO SERIO — WHO HE WAS BEFORE

Full name: Eduardo Mauricio Moisés Serio Background: Hollywood socialite. Born in Mexico, raised between Mexico City and Los Angeles. No formal background in wildlife, zoology, veterinary medicine, or animal husbandry of any kind.Business background: Former shareholder in Social Reality Inc. — a $300 million internet advertising and technology company specializing in automating digital marketing and online advertising. He understood virality, algorithms, and content spread before most of the world had learned the vocabulary. Co-founder: Rachel Brandt, his then-girlfriend, with whom he lived with the original three animals in their Monterrey house.

THE FIRST ANIMALS — WHAT THE ORIGIN STORY LEFT OUT

Cielo — the black jaguar whose rescue became the founding myth of BJWT. Cielo did not go to a sanctuary. She went to Serio's personal Acapulco mansion as a pet. She was subsequently declawed — the surgical removal of the last joint of each toe, permanently disabling her from hunting, self-defense, or any possibility of release into the wild. Documented by PETA and I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc.

Karma — the second animal, a lion cub acquired shortly after Cielo. Karma died. No cause of death was ever publicly documented or explained. Confirmed in records by I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc.

Tieris — a tiger, the third animal, who also lived in the Monterrey house.

THE ANIMALS NAMED IN THIS EPISODE

THE CELEBRITY VISITS — DOCUMENTED

As of this recording: Not one of these individuals has issued a public statement about the raid, the indictment, or the conditions documented by investigators.

THE WOMEN WHO TRIED TO STOP IT

PETA began raising documented concerns in 2014–2015. They published video evidence of cubs in cardboard boxes, incorrectly bottle-fed, subjected to camera flashes. They documented Cielo's declaw surgery. They formally named BJWT "just another sham sanctuary making a profit by exploiting animals." They contacted authorities. Serio posted a cub video and his followers attacked their channels.

Wild Welfare published an open letter to Lewis Hamilton in 2016, cosigned by Animals Asia, Humane Society International, International Animal Rescue, and others. They documented specific welfare violations and formally called on Hamilton to reconsider his endorsement. They also published a formal letter directly to Serio. He posted about people who "don't understand love."

Captive Wildlife Watchdog spent years archiving Serio's public social media posts before they could be deleted — including multiple documented instances of him publicly calling women who challenged him "whores" and "cheap" on Instagram and Facebook to his millions of followers. In one documented post he publicly degraded a woman named Erika Ortigoza, who had opposed him. All archived at captivewildlifewatchdog.org.

I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc. conducted a multi-year investigation tracing the acquisition pipeline, the donation flows, the medically impossible recovery timelines in his posts, the death of Karma, and the gap between his claimed animal count and government records.

AZCARM filed a formal criminal complaint with Mexico's Attorney General in June 2022 — before the raid — with photographic evidence of specific legal violations.

Every organization was dismissed as "the dark side of humanity" trying to destroy him. His followers treated each attack as confirmation of his importance.

YAEL RUIZ — THE WHISTLEBLOWER

Yael Ruiz is a Mexican activist who worked inside the Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation for two years. She was brought in by Serio to film and photograph the animals for social media content.

For two years she documented what she witnessed internally. She filed a complaint with authorities. They did nothing.

In June 2022 she brought her documentation to Arturo Islas Allende — a Mexican environmental activist and documentary filmmaker with over 3 million Instagram followers. Together they went to the authorities first. The authorities stalled.

On July 3, 2022 they posted publicly.

Yael Ruiz's documented testimony (from Univision Investiga interview, translated from Spanish):

"The animals are in a terrible situation. They are hungry. After a year you see them unable to walk, unable to move, suffering, until they are on the floor and literally crying because they cannot move."

"Eduardo started putting animals to sleep because they were in the way. He buried and buried and buried animals until there was literally no space left. In some graves there were three or four animals buried the same day — they would drag them and throw them in the grave."

On the lion Lewis: "This animal is Lewis. It was announced that he died from kidney problems. That is not true. This animal died from lack of veterinary attention."

Serio's response when the video posted: he publicly accused Yael of working "in secret" for AZCARM, of being a spy, of betrayal. His followers attacked her. The same playbook, one final time.

This time, four million people had already seen the footage.

Yael Ruiz is the reason 200 animals got out of that property.

THE LEGAL TIMELINE

ANIMALS SEIZED IN THE JULY 5, 2022 RAID

• 177 felines
• 17 monkeys
• 4 dogs
• 2 donkeys
• 2 coyotes

Total: 202 animals

Arturo Islas Allende described the scene as "a holocaust for the animals" and "hell on earth." Mexico's prosecutors formally stated the animals "devoured themselves to avoid starvation." An anonymous worker quoted by El Universal said: "Money was coming in and it was not used for the animals. Their tails were ripped out due to hunger."

LORI'S STORY

Lori followed the Black Jaguar White Tiger account for over a year. She donated. She knew the animals by name. Eduardo Serio reached out to her directly and invited her to visit the foundation. When she mentioned wanting to bring her boyfriend, his energy shifted. He invited her to sleep alone in the casita with the baby lions. Her mother talked her out of going. This account is Lori's own firsthand experience, presented as such.

ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED — FOLLOW THEIR WORK

• PETA: peta.org/features/exposed-black-jaguar-white-tiger/
• Wild Welfare: wildwelfare.org
• Captive Wildlife Watchdog: captivewildlifewatchdog.org
• I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc.: icarusinc.blog
• AZCARM: azcarm.com.mx
• Arturo Islas Allende: @arturoislasallende on Instagram

IF THIS EPISODE MOVED YOU

The best things you can do:

1. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people find Paperleash
2. Share this episode — especially with people who followed BJWT
3. Follow Arturo Islas Allende (@arturoislasallende) — he is still actively documenting wildlife crimes in Mexico
4. Support accredited sanctuaries only — the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) maintains a verified list at sanctuaryfederation.org
5. Before donating to any animal rescue or sanctuary: verify their nonprofit status, request proof of accreditation, and search their name at Charity Navigator or GuideStar

HOW TO SPOT A FAKE SANCTUARY

A legitimate sanctuary will:

• Be accredited by GFAS or AZA
• Never allow direct public contact with big cats or bears
• Never allow photo opportunities with cubs
• Have verifiable government registration and inspection records
• Publish annual financial reports
• Have a documented rehabilitation and placement record

If a "sanctuary" charges you to hold a cub, take a selfie with a tiger, or sleep near the animals — it is not a sanctuary. It is a business. And the animals are the product.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

• Wikipedia — BJWT: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Jaguar-White_Tiger_Foundation
• Green Matters: greenmatters.com/news/black-jaguar-white-tiger-foundation-shut-down
• Mexico News Daily (raid): mexiconewsdaily.com/news/sanctuarys-owner-denies-abuse-after-animals-seized/
• Mexico News Daily (money laundering): mexiconewsdaily.com/news/founder-sanctuary-investigation-money-laundering/
• Border Report (raid footage): borderreport.com/hot-topics/border-crime/animals-devoured-themselves-to-avoid-starvation
• Gizmodo (2016 investigation): gizmodo.com/this-celebrity-studded-instagram-petting-zoo-is-a-disas-1750359929
• The Daily Beast: thedailybeast.com/hollywoods-favorite-sham-petting-zoo/
• France 24 (Hamilton backlash): france24.com/en/20191016-for-lewis-hamilton-social-media-backlash-is-familiar-feeling
• Bleacher Report (Hamilton tiger video): bleacherreport.com/articles/2608336
• Wild Welfare (Dear Lewis Hamilton): wildwelfare.org/dear-lewis-hamilton/
• Wild Welfare (letter to Serio): wildwelfare.org/wild-welfare-responds-to-reports-on-animal-welfare-concerns-at-black-jaguar-white-tiger-facility/
• PETA full investigation: peta.org/features/exposed-black-jaguar-white-tiger/
• Captive Wildlife Watchdog: captivewildlifewatchdog.org/blog/black-jaguar-white-tigers-facts-or-fiction
• I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc.: icarusinc.blog/category/black-jaguar-white-tiger-2/
• The Animal Reader: theanimalreader.com/2022/07/06/news-animals-mexico-shuts-down-wild-animal-sanctuary
• Univision Investiga (Yael Ruiz interview, Spanish): univision.com/noticias/america-latina/black-jaguar-white-tiger-fundacion-denuncias-serio-leones-tigres
• Lewis Hamilton tiger video: youtube.com/watch?v=Z2sIngUO0jI

ABOUT PAPERLEASH

Paperleash is a true crime podcast documenting crimes — and systems — in the animal welfare world. Every case is real. Every detail is verified. Every episode is an act of advocacy.

New episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Lori. Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

But there's something most pet owners don't know: the clinic you've been going to for years may no longer be what it appears. The sign is the same. The waiting room is the same. The jar of treats on the counter is the same.

The ownership has changed. And so have the incentives.

Over the last decade, private equity firms have poured more than $51 billion into buying up veterinary clinics across the United States — quietly, systematically, and almost entirely without public awareness. Corporate ownership of general veterinary practices has grown from roughly 8 percent to nearly 30 percent. For emergency and specialty care — the 2am hospitals where you take your pet in crisis — the number is closer to 75 percent.

One company, JAB Holding Company — the Luxembourg-based private equity firm behind Panera Bread and Krispy Kreme — now owns over 1,400 veterinary clinics through a chain called National Veterinary Associates. They also own multiple pet insurance brands. They make money when your pet gets sick. Then they make money when you pay to treat it. The Federal Trade Commission has investigated them twice. U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal opened a formal Senate investigation in 2024.

Veterinarians working inside these corporate chains have gone on record: there are revenue targets per appointment. Quotas for specific procedures. Pressure to upsell. One Alabama vet who worked at a JAB-owned clinic told Stateline: "Before, I never felt any pressure to be making a certain amount of money in a day. It was just: fill your schedule, practice good medicine, everything else will come." After the acquisition, she said the message was clear — if a pet owner wasn't going to spend enough, offer more services.

I sat in an emergency vet waiting room at 2am in Chicago and was handed a $7,000 estimate for one night. I felt like my love for my dog was being used as a bargaining chip. So I went down the rabbit hole on who is actually setting these prices.

What I found is a crime that nobody is calling a crime. And it is happening to every pet owner in America.

In this episode: who is buying your vet, how the financial architecture works, what it means for the animals, and — most importantly — what you can do about it right now.

This is Paperleash. True crime. The victims are animals.

Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

SHOW NOTES

WHAT THIS EPISODE COVERS

• How private equity roll-up strategy works and why veterinary medicine became a target
• The specific firms buying your clinics — JAB Holdings, KKR, Shore Capital, TSG Consumer, and more
• What changes inside a clinic after acquisition — quota systems, upselling pressure, revenue targets
• The closed-loop problem: owning both the clinic and the pet insurance
• The Senate investigation, FTC enforcement actions, and why they haven't been enough
• Lori's personal story: $7,000 at 2am and the question that started this episode
• How the cost crisis connects directly to shelter overcrowding and owner surrenders
• A toolkit: how to find out if your vet is corporately owned and how to protect yourself

THE NUMBERS

• Vet care costs up ~40% since 2020 — nearly twice the rate of inflation
• Private equity invested $51.6 billion in veterinary sector 2017–2023
• An additional $9.3 billion in just the first four months of 2024
• Corporate ownership: ~8% → 25–30% of general practices in a decade
• Emergency/specialty care: ~75% now corporately owned
• 70% of pet owners have delayed or skipped vet care due to cost (MetLife, 2025)
• 85% say vet costs have affected their peace of mind

KEY PLAYERS NAMED IN THIS EPISODE

JAB Holding Company — Luxembourg-based private equity. Owns National Veterinary Associates (~1,400 locations), Ethos Veterinary Health (145 specialty/emergency hospitals), and multiple pet insurance brands. FTC forced divestitures twice. Under formal Senate investigation since August 2024.

KKR — Owns PetVet Care Centers (450+ hospitals).

Shore Capital Partners — Owns Southern Veterinary Partners and Mission Veterinary Partners (660+ clinics combined).

VetCor (Harvest Partners) — 900+ clinics.

TSG Consumer Partners — Owns Thrive Pet Healthcare (500+ clinics). Closed the only 24-hour emergency vet in the entire Rochester, NY metro area.

THE VET WHO WENT ON RECORD

Dr. Melissa Ezell worked at a National Veterinary Associates clinic in Huntsville, Alabama — owned by JAB Holding Company. She spoke to Stateline's Anna Claire Vollers in March 2024.

On life before the acquisition: "It was just: fill your schedule, practice good medicine, everything else will come."

On life after: "Either you're getting talked into additional services that may or may not actually be necessary, or you feel like you're being rushed. You feel like you don't have the time with the doctor, and you leave not fully understanding what was done to your pet."

She left. She took a job at a privately-owned clinic.

THE SENATE INVESTIGATION (PUBLIC RECORD)

• August 6, 2024: Senators Warren and Blumenthal send formal letter to JAB Holding Company
• August 2024: Second letter to KKR regarding PetVet Care Centers
• August 28, 2024: JAB responds
• September 2024: Senate roundtable on veterinary consolidation, Watertown, MA
• November 2024: Warren and Blumenthal follow up with JAB
• All documents publicly available at warren.senate.gov

WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW

1. Check if your clinic is corporately owned. Go to privateequityvet.org — a database of 6,000+ corporately owned practices. Search your clinic's name before your next visit.

2. Look at the bottom of your vet's website. If you see NVA, PetVet Care Centers, Southern Veterinary Partners, VetCor, or Thrive — your prices are being set by a private equity boardroom.

3. Always ask for the intermediate options. Before leaving the exam room, say: "Can you walk me through a more conservative approach? What are the intermediate options?" A vet practicing medicine will answer. A system running on quotas may go quiet.

4. Ask for a written prescription for every medication. Vets are legally required to write you a prescription. The same drug that costs $3/pill at the clinic may be available for a fraction of that at an outside pharmacy.

5. Find low-cost community resources before you need them. Your local humane society, ASPCA branch, or rescue organizations often operate low-cost clinics or can connect you with financial assistance. PetHelpFinder.org can search by location.

6. Start a pet emergency fund now. Even $50/month into a dedicated account gives you options when you're standing in a waiting room at 2am. Options, in that room, are everything.

SOURCES & FURTHER READING

• Stateline — "Vets Fret as Private Equity Snaps Up Clinics" (March 29, 2024): stateline.org
• The Atlantic — "Why Your Vet Bill Is So High," Helaine Olen (April 25, 2024)
• New York Times — "Why You're Paying Your Veterinarian So Much" (June 24, 2024)
• Fortune — "Many Americans Can't Afford Vet Care. Is a New Business Model to Blame?" (May 2024)
• NPR Planet Money / The Indicator — "Why Are Vet Bills Getting So Ruff on the Wallet?" (October 20, 2025)
• More Perfect Union — "Private Equity's Ruthless Pet Care Scheme" (August 2025)
• Rolling Stone — "Elizabeth Warren Targets Private Equity Firm Buying Veterinary Offices" (August 2024)
• Senate investigation documents: warren.senate.gov
• FTC actions on JAB: ftc.gov
• Private Equity Stakeholder Project: pestakeholder.org
• Corporate clinic database: privateequityvet.org

ABOUT PAPERLEASH

Paperleash is a true crime podcast documenting crimes — and systems — in the animal welfare world. Every case is real. Every detail is verified. And every episode you listen to is an act of advocacy.

New episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Lori. Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

The #Chandler55 refers to the 55 special needs dogs seized from a residential property in Chandler, Arizona on September 22, 2023. The property served as the headquarters of the Special Needs Animal Welfare League (SNAWL), a nonprofit rescue operated by April McLaughlin, who went by numerous aliases including Sydney McKinley, Skyler McKinley, and Samantha Taylor — 13 documented aliases in total, with court documents listing as many as 21 names she used over the course of her operation.

McLaughlin was arrested that night on 55 counts of animal abuse, 55 counts of animal cruelty, and one count of vulnerable adult abuse. She subsequently pleaded guilty in December 2025 to four felony charges and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Rueter on January 15, 2026.

THE SENTENCE

On January 15, 2026, April McLaughlin was sentenced to:

• 3.5 years in prison for fraud charges involving her mother
• 2 years in prison for animal cruelty (concurrent with the fraud sentence)
• 7 years of supervised probation following release
• $173,000 in restitution — including $124,000 specifically to her mother Kathleen
• Lifetime ban on animal ownership

She received credit for approximately two years already served in Maricopa County jail awaiting trial.

THE FINANCIAL CRIMES

Prosecutors documented that McLaughlin:

• Solicited over $47,000 in fraudulent donations and supplies from rescue organizations across the country
• Stole more than $160,000 from her mother Kathleen's bank accounts
• Charged more than $20,000 on her mother's credit card
• Used at least 13 aliases to bypass blacklists maintained by rescue organizations she had previously defrauded

She was indicted on eight additional felony fraud charges in September 2024, separate from the original animal cruelty charges.

KATHLEEN MCLAUGHLIN

April McLaughlin's mother, Kathleen McLaughlin, 79, a stroke survivor, was found living inside the home. She had no working toilet, slept on a couch, and survived on cereal and apples when her daughter remembered to bring them. Investigators later confirmed she had been eating food from the same freezer where five dead dogs were stored. Her Social Security checks had been redirected to her daughter's bank account.

At the January 2026 sentencing, Kathleen's sister Marilyn Tremblay read a statement on Kathleen's behalf: "I slept on a couch, had no working toilet and survived on cereal and apples that she periodically brought for me."

Kathleen was owed $124,000 of the $173,000 in restitution ordered at sentencing.

In an on-camera interview with FOX 10 Phoenix investigative reporter Justin Lum in October 2023, Kathleen was asked how she was doing after leaving the home. She smiled and said: "I'm sleeping like a baby."

THE DOGS

Of the 55 dogs seized on September 22, 2023 — with additional dogs bringing the total to over 60:

• 5 dogs were euthanized immediately due to the severity of their injuries
• 1 additional dog died on October 16, 2023 from injuries sustained in McLaughlin's care
• Surviving dogs were taken in by the Arizona Humane Society and in many cases reunited with the original rescue organizations that had transferred them to SNAWL
• Butters — the dog from Yaqui Animal Rescue in Texas whose story helped crack the case — survived and was adopted by Becca Chavez
• Chester — one of the dogs from the Animal Rescue Mission in Los Angeles — survived and was rehomed with Catherine Sermeno, who brought him to the sentencing hearing in his wheelchair
• Jerry — a paralyzed chocolate Labrador — survived, was rehomed, and became the namesake of Arizona's Jerry's Law

The names of the five euthanized dogs, as documented in court records: Chauncey, Ruby, Rudy, Sunny, and Victory.

THE ADVOCATES

The following individuals played key documented roles in exposing the case and applying public and legal pressure:

Koco Garcia / Handover Rover (@handoverrover on TikTok and Instagram) — whose viral video stating "She's holding our dogs hostage. Please help us" helped ignite the national #Chandler55 movement. Koco had entrusted a blind dog named Marbles to SNAWL.

Becca Chavez / Yaqui Animal Rescue (Texas) — who drove from Texas to Arizona to demand her dogs back, and who fought for over two years through the legal process. She attended the sentencing and spoke on camera about the outcome.

Shira Scott Astrof / Animal Rescue Mission (Los Angeles) — who had personally placed dogs including Chester, Rudy, and Bailey with SNAWL and became one of the most visible advocates in the case.

Kimberly Elliott / Be Like Josh Foundation (Chandler, AZ) — who had reported McLaughlin in 2019 and provided four years of documented history to investigators and the public after the 2023 raid.

JERRY'S LAW

Senate Bill 1658, nicknamed Jerry's Law, was signed by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs on June 27, 2025 at the Arizona Humane Society's Papago Park campus in Phoenix. The law went into effect on September 26, 2025 — almost exactly two years to the day after Jerry was rescued.

The law was sponsored by Arizona State Senator Shawnna Bolick and passed the Arizona Senate 25 to 5.

Jerry's Law redefines animal cruelty in Arizona to include intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly failing to provide medical attention necessary to prevent unreasonable suffering of a domestic animal. It mandates reasonable access to food, water, and shelter, expands the definition of "domestic animal" to include birds, reptiles, and amphibians, and increases penalties for violators.

Dr. Steven Hansen, President and CEO of the Arizona Humane Society, called it the most significant animal protection legislation in Arizona in a decade.

Jerry attended the bill signing. So did Butters.

AUDIO CLIPS FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE

Clip 1 — Koco Garcia's TikTok ("She's holding our dogs hostage")

• Source: TikTok @handoverrover
• URL: https://www.tiktok.com/@handoverrover/video/7280992104677920043

Clip 2 — Kathleen McLaughlin on-camera interview, FOX 10 Phoenix

• Source: FOX 10 Phoenix, investigative reporter Justin Lum, October 2023
• URL: https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/chandler-animal-abuse-investigation-mother-of-suspect-speaks-out
• Quote used: "The two bedrooms were full of dogs, so we weren't able to sleep there... One week at a time, she'd buy a bag of apples. I'd have an apple for lunch... She threatened me a couple of times. If I complained, she'd pack me in the car and drop me off someplace."

Clip 3 — Police bodycam footage, welfare check June 30, 2023

• Source: FOX 10 Phoenix / KSAZ, obtained and published by Law & Crime
• URL: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/shes-got-so-many-dogs-bodycam-footage-shows-welfare-check-months-before-79-year-old-woman-55-dogs-found-in-horrid-conditions/
• Context: This is the welfare check triggered when Kathleen told library staff she was being mistreated — three months before the raid. The officer could smell urine through the closed front door.

Clip 4 — Rebecca Chavez post-sentencing statement

• Source: AZ Family, January 15, 2026
• URL: https://www.azfamily.com/2026/01/15/chandler-woman-sentenced-prison-animal-cruelty-fraud-cases/
• Quote used: "Of course, we wanted the maximum or at least probably a little bit more than what she received today, but would it ever really be enough? Probably not."
• Note: If the video clip is unavailable, this quote is read in narration and attributed directly to Chavez with source.

IF YOU WANT TO GO DEEPER

Podcast: A Pawdcast: House of Horrors — a multi-part series featuring full interviews with Becca Chavez, Shira Scott Astrof, Koco Garcia, and Kimberly Elliott in their own words. Available on Spotify:https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/a-pawdcast/episodes/A-Pawdcast-House-of-Horrors-Part-2-e2hitc9

News Coverage:

• AZ Family / 3TV CBS 5 (ongoing coverage): https://www.azfamily.com/
• FOX 10 Phoenix: https://www.fox10phoenix.com/
• ABC15 Arizona — sentencing: https://www.abc15.com/news/crime/woman-at-center-of-major-chandler-animal-abuse-case-to-serve-3-5-years-in-prison-probation
• 12News — sentencing and victim statements: https://www.12news.com/article/news/crime/a-chandler-woman-who-claimed-to-rescue-disabled-dogs-was-sentenced-for-torturing-dozens-and-stealing-from-her-mother
• Chandler News — case timeline: https://www.chandlernews.com/santan/news/dog-hoarding-case-in-chandler-delayed-again/
• Law & Crime — bodycam and case detail: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/april-mclaughlin/
• Cronkite News — Jerry's Law: https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2025/07/10/katie-hobbs-signs-bill-protecting-against-animal-cruelty-arizona/

Jerry's Law:

• Arizona SB 1658 — signed June 27, 2025, effective September 26, 2025
• Arizona Humane Society official announcement: https://www.azhumane.org/news/jerrys-law-officially-takes-effect-in-historic-win-for-arizonas-pets/

THE ADVOCATES — FOLLOW THEM

• Koco Garcia / Handover Rover: @handoverrover on TikTok and Instagram
• Shira Scott Astrof / Animal Rescue Mission: Active on Instagram and TikTok
• Becca Chavez / Yaqui Animal Rescue: Based in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas
• Kimberly Elliott / Be Like Josh Foundation: Based in Chandler, Arizona

REPORT ANIMAL ABUSE

• Arizona Humane Society: 602-997-7585 ext. 2073
• ASPCA national tip line: aspca.org
• Red flag checklist for vetting a rescue organization:
  • Request a site visit before transferring any animal
  • Verify nonprofit standing at IRS.gov (search 501c3 status)
  • Demand vet records on request — legitimate rescues have them
  • Check for adoption records — a rescue with no placements is a red flag
  • Search the rescue name and any known aliases at privateequityvet.org, and in your state's nonprofit registry
  • Trust the community warning system — if a rescue has been flagged in private groups, investigate before placing

SUPPORT THE SHOW

If this episode moved you, the best things you can do are:

1. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people find Paperleash
2. Share this episode with one person who loves animals
3. Follow @handoverrover, the Animal Rescue Mission, Yaqui Animal Rescue, and Be Like Josh Foundation — these are the real people doing the real work
4. Donate to the The Foster Fund — helping to end the shelter crisis by connecting verified fosters with rescues

Paperleash documents crimes in the animal welfare world. Every case is real. Every detail is verified. And every episode you listen to is an act of advocacy.

I'm Lori. Stay obsessed. Stay skeptical. Stay loud.

Paperleash is an independent podcast. All episodes are produced using verified court documents, sworn sentencing testimony, police records, and published news coverage. No details are invented or embellished. The animals were real. The suffering was real. The people who fought for them are real.