According to a lawsuit, the original December vote to approve the facility and provide tax credits may have violated open meeting laws.
In December 2023 city and county officials approved the breeding facility project. Estimates put its financial benefit at $300 million with promises from the company behind it—Safer Human Medicine--to build a facility that could eventually house up to 30,000 monkeys meant for research. The officials agreed to give the facility a 10-year tax break and donated 200 acres of land. But that vote was not done publicly. In January, public outcry ensued, and this week, Bainbridge officials reneged on their vote for the facility which remains under heavy community pressure.
Bainbridge resident Vena Merritt told commissioners that “monkeys are screaming for their lives to be spared. Not at a sanctuary, but at a place that causes the pain.”
Merritt was one of several local residents who've been speaking out against the facility.
Elise Boyd owns property in Decatur County. Boyd attended the most recent meeting and read aloud from a city website page.
"The goal of the planning department is to protect the public’s safety, health, and general welfare and to maintain a quality of life in the community while preserving its lifestyle and values," she quoted from the site, adding "I do not see that the monkey facility is adhering to this."
Some people are worried about monkeys getting loose, the potential risk of disease, and declining property values.
In response to the most recent vote Safer Human Medicine released a statement, saying, the health and welfare of animals at the breeding facility will be its top priority. They also noted that the project brings much-needed new jobs to the area.
Lisa Jones Engel is a senior science officer for PETA--People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She has been active in the fight against the facility, disagrees with Safer Human Medicine’s statement, and argues the monkeys pose a danger to human health.
“They’re shedding in their urine their feces they saliva their blood everything from Ebola like viruses, salmonella," she said. "Those are the monkeys who would be landing in Bainbridge.”
Engel has praised Bainbridge residents for speaking up.
“Never underestimate this community. They stood up to a person, everyone there, and said no they made their voices heard, and like you said, around the globe," she said.
In response, David Jost, the CEO of Safer Human Medicine, told WFSU that the company strictly adheres to USDA standards, and that its work is strictly regulated. He said the company had a good relationship with Bainbridge, that its been completely transparent throughout the process, and intentionally sought broad community support for its work—all before PETA showed up. He says the company anticipated PETA's arrival, and that "we're not going to get into a rock fight with PETA, we will let our work speak for itself." He's asking the community to let the company prove itself before casting judgement.
Animal testing in the U.S. is critical to research and medical development, but it's not something that researchers want to discuss because it carries a negative stigma of animal mistreatment.
“This isn’t mice that were talking about. These are highly intelligent lager mammals that require a lot of work," says veterinarian Collen McCarthy. She works with exotic animals, and while not a supporter of animal testing, McCarthy calls it a "necessary evil."
“If there's ever a way to do without it, I think especially in the U.S we would pursue that, but unfortunately I do not think there are any models or anything to date that could really replace a live subject," she said.
Under the original plan, Safer Human Medicine would have phased in the number of monkey’s housed there within 20 years. Decatur county granted approximately $58 million in tax credits and 200 acres of land in return for more than 200 jobs with an average salary of $64,000. Now Safer Human Medicine is suing Decatur to force the county to uphold a Feb. 29 closing date for the land. Despite the lawsuits, the company is promising to move forward.
