The future of a small town lies in the hands of a Georgia appeals court. On Thursday, June 13, a panel of three judges heard arguments about whether to allow plans to build a monkey breeding facility in Bainbridge to move forward.
Bainbridge is a town of about 14,000 residents in the southwestern corner of Georgia. The massive facility would eventually house 30,000 long-tailed macaques.
In December, Bainbridge city leaders gave Safer Human Medicine — an organization that uses the monkeys for testing — approval to build the facility and granted a bond resolution that included at 10-year tax abatement. Work began quickly to clear land for the project, just a few hundred feet from peoples’ homes.
The town’s residents raised concerns, with the backing of groups like PETA. By February, Decatur County commissioners had unanimously voted to withdraw their support for the facility.
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