Residents and animal rights groups in a Georgia town are fighting back over plans to set up a breeding colony of 30,000 monkeys in the town, according to multiple reports.

An organization called Safer Human Medicine (SHM) has chosen to build a facility in Bainbridge, WALB that will eventually house 30,000 monkeys for breeding purposes. report. (Related: Monkey escapes from Scottish wildlife park despite warning from authorities)

Approximately 14,000 people currently live in Bainbridge according to Based on 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data.

The monkey mini-city will be the largest such facility in the country, the newspaper reported. “This is not a research facility; it is strictly a livestock facility intended to house and care for primates.” letter A statement from SHM to town residents said the organization behind the facility is dedicated to “ensuring that U.S. medical research is not delayed due to scientists and researchers not having access to non-human primates.” Although he admitted that he had

According to the Associated Press, SHM has adequate stewardship and safety measures to prevent monkeys from escaping the proposed $396 million facility, which would have up to 263 employees. Not everyone was convinced by SHM's promise to take action. report. “They're an invasive species, and if you had 30,000 of them, you'd be overrun with monkeys,” Bainbridge resident Ted Lee told WALB-TV, as reported by the Associated Press. It is said that

“In an attempt to attract jobs, many of which are low-paying and risk exposure to zoonotic diseases, city and county officials are attempting to attract jobs that would create an ecological disaster and potentially destroy the environment.” “The next pandemic is the next pandemic,” said PETA's scientific advisor. Lisa Jones-Engel made the claims in a statement, the newspaper reported.

“I don't think anyone wants to have 30,000 monkeys next door,” another resident, David Barber, told WALB.

Jim Harkness CEO SHM researchers said it would take 20 years for the monkey population to grow to this large, and that the project had “only a few thousand primates on site” for the first few years, the newspaper reported. “We have nothing to hide. We are very transparent about who we are and what we do. We share information with people and address their concerns. We just want to understand how we can help alleviate them and benefit them and the community as a whole,” Haankes added.

'This is an important project': Bainbridge monkey facility officials raise concerns.https://t.co/LhgezCwtNl

— WCTV Eyewitness News (@WCTV) February 8, 2024

The protests had an effect. The Bainbridge-Decatur County Development Authority voted Feb. 2 to withdraw support for the project, including revoking approval of tax incentives, and the Decatur County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to withdraw support. WRDW announced that the resolution has been passed. report. However, a vote does not necessarily stop the project. according to Fox 5.