The Fight Against Bainbridge Monkey Prison Continues After Appeals Court Ruling: PETA Statement

For Immediate Release:
November 1, 2024

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Please see the following statement from PETA primate scientist Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel regarding the Georgia Court of Appeals’ decision to dismiss an appeal by the state of Georgia that would have vacated an order validating the issuance of bonds in the principal amount of $300 million to Safer Human Medicine to finance a proposed monkey prison in Bainbridge. In an ongoing lawsuit, Bainbridge residents allege that the monkey facility was approved in violation of the Georgia Open Meetings Act, including the $300 million tax abatement for Safer Human Medicine. Yesterday’s decision by the court of appeals means only that the tax abatement will possibly stand for now, although the court simply ruled that the state couldn’t appeal the bond validation, not on the bond validation itself.

This fight is far from over. The court’s decision, based on a dizzying and often confusing set of facts, is nothing more than a bump on a one-way road leading to the end of a cruel and pointless monkey-breeding colossus that’s vehemently opposed by the residents of Bainbridge.

PETA stands with those who see the project for what it is: washed-up former executives of companies that have faced criminal investigations and millions of dollars in fines trying to make as much money as they can with an unprecedented, dangerous, and soon-irrelevant monkey warehouse that would come at the expense of a beautiful town.

Additional information: In a separate nuisance lawsuit filed in August, another group of residents, including ones who own properties that border the proposed facility, detail alleged harm that the operation would cause, including exposing locals to infectious agents and dangerous waste leaks.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.