A plan to establish a 200-acre mini-city for monkeys in Georgia, United States, is being opposed by local residents and animal rights organizations. According to The Guardian, the facility will hold 30,000 macaques for scientific purposes. It has been designed by Safer Human Medicine, which is investing $396 million in simian metropolis. According to the site, the goal is to house hundreds of long-tailed macaques in massive barn-like facilities before shipping them to universities and pharmaceutical companies for medical research.
However, inhabitants of Bainbridge, which has a population of less than 15,000, are urging local officials to halt the development of the proposed metropolis. “They’re an invasive species, and with 30,000 of them, we’d just be overrun with monkeys,” Ted Lee, a local resident, told The Guardian. “I don’t think anybody would want 30,000 monkeys next door,” said David Barber, who lives near the proposed facility. Animal rights activists have also joined forces to protest the initiative, claiming that rearing primates for medical tests is cruel.
The monkeys would be housed in extremely safe conditions and would not spread disease over the area
“This move not only further threatens the survival of these primates in the wild, it perpetuates a cycle that we should be breaking away from. We urge local officials to reject the proposal to build this facility and the federal government to prioritise science that will ultimately save both human and animal lives,” said Kathleen Conlee, vice president of animal research issues for the Humane Society.
PETA announced on its website that Bainbridge Island citizens have filed a lawsuit against the authorities and officials who voted to approve the monkey-breeding facility. However, the company stated that the macaques in specially outfitted warehouses will be allowed to explore and socialize. It also stated that the monkeys would be housed in extremely safe conditions and would not spread disease over the area.
“We all depend on these critical primates to save the lives of our loved ones and ourselves,” Safer Human Medicine stated in an open letter to residents. It has also launched a court lawsuit against the local development authority, stating that they must adhere to the previous agreement. The facility initially secured tax breaks ahead of construction, although those have now been withdrawn ahead of a decision by local authorities over whether to allow the project.