Outrage Over Proposed Georgia Monkey Prison
A project to build a massive monkey prison in Georgia, where monkeys would be bred for vivisection labs, faces increasingly strong opposition from local residents
Los Angeles, March 12th, 2024 — Residents of Bainbridge, Georgia, are expressing outrage over plans to build a massive laboratory monkey-breeding facility in their small city. If built, this facility would become the biggest monkey prison in the United States, capable of holding 30,000 primates destined for torture in labs. Monkeys would be shipped by the thousands in and out of this facility and across the United States.
A Lawsuit to Stop It
A lawsuit, filed by local residents, alleges, “Despite extensive public safety, environmental, and ethical considerations, as well as the significant tax dollars pledged on behalf of the City and the County, the City and the Development Authority purposefully concealed…” the project “…from the public including residents located immediately adjacent to the proposed primate breeding facility…” The lawsuit further alleges local officials held an illegal meeting where they approved a 20-year tax abatement scheme worth over $58 million to encourage the construction of this facility. Local officials did not respond to requests for comment on this lawsuit.
Although the huge public uproar has reportedly forced local politicians to backtrack on aspects of the corporate deal, the battle is not over as the facility could still be built. The animal rights organization PETA has joined the local residents in campaigning against this project, and it is asking its supporters to help by visiting its dedicated webpage and, through it, writing to Bainbridge city officials and elected representatives asking them to oppose this project.
Click Here to Contact Bainbridge, Georgia Officials
Kathy Guillermo, PETA’s Senior Vice President of Laboratory Investigations, spoke with UnchainedTV’s Jane Velez-Mitchell about their campaign, which you can watch here:
A Rushed Project the Locals Don’t Want
Kathy Guillermo is Senior Vice President of Laboratory Investigations at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. For nearly 30 years, Guillermo has worked to expose and end cruelty to animals in the experimentation and horse racing industries. She has spearheaded landmark PETA victories against government agencies like NASA and the U.S. Military and major corporations. She explains the status of this campaign to stop the Georgia monkey breeding facility:
“The local residents are putting up a really good fight, and they’ve got some of the officials on their side. Some of the officials have acknowledged that things were done wrong. It wasn’t handled properly. And, yet, the Development Authority and the City of Bainbridge are still apparently backing this proposal. So, the fight is not over.”
“I just got a real bad feeling about it,” said one Decatur County resident to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Lawsuit Alleges Secret Dealings
PETA says a private company persuaded some local officials to not only back this highly controversial plan but to also offer the business what PETA describes as a “sweetheart deal.” However, local residents hope the legal action they’ve filed will help stop this monkey prison from being built by challenging the legality of the meeting. Guillermo explains:
“It turns out that open meetings laws were violated in that committee meeting. They didn’t put out a proper notice. There were all kinds of irregularities with it. So, the lawsuit alleges that the contracts that were approved, that the proposal that was approved by the officials, are illegal, and should not be honored. That’s what the lawsuit is about, so far. The county and the Board of Tax Assessors are agreeing with that, but the city and the Board of Education are not.”
“I think the citizens of any county in any state are far more powerful together than any company or any single legislator.” — Kathy Guillermo, Senior VP of PETA
Every Letter Counts in this Battle
This is a case where some officials are already reportedly admitting that things were not done properly. However, stopping this monkey prison from being built is still David and Goliath battle. Guillermo explains why every letter to city officials is so crucial:
“What is really complicating this is that there is a bond validation measure that has already been approved by the court in Georgia, and it’s very hard to stop those. The locals are trying their best. The District Attorney is trying, but it’s very difficult to stop these. So, we really need the city and the Board of Education to come together and say to this company, ‘Well, if you’re coming here, you’re not getting the 60 million dollars in tax incentives.’”
PETA is asking US citizens in every state to support their campaign by writing to officials of this Georgia city. PETA also urges Americans to contact their members of Congress and demand they oppose the planned monkey breeding operation. PETA suggests animal lovers also implore their representatives to vote for measures (such as the CARGO Act) aimed at phasing out the use of animals in research and product testing. Guillermo explains why all citizens should be concerned about this project:
“It’s a national issue. It’s not as though they’re going to be 30,000 monkeys who go to this facility and that’s that. They’re going to be thousands of monkeys going in and out of this facility. They’re going to be trucked across the United States. They may be passing through the states that you’re living in on their way to laboratories. We know monkeys bring disease at no fault of their own.”
We invite any of the corporations that are involved, as well as any local county, state officials, or federal officials, to comment on this case at any time.
“It could be stopped its tracks, because if they can’t honor the $60 million in tax incentives they offered to this company, then the company is going to be hard-pressed to want to go forward with it.”— Kathy Guillermo, Senior VP of PETA
What's Your Reaction?
