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After TheirTurn broke the news that officials in Hendry County secretly approved a second new monkey breeding facility, several media outlets in Central Florida conducted their own investigations to confirm the report. What one TV station uncovered is sending shockwaves through the state of Florida.

According to USDA documents discovered by Wink News, Primate Products, a different monkey breeding facility in Hendry County, has conducted hundreds of experiments on monkeys — illegally. In a press conference on Tuesday, the County Administrator said that he had no knowledge of the experiments and that conducting them on land zoned for “agriculture” violates the law. As it is, area residents are arguing in an ongoing lawsuit against the County that breeding monkeys for lab experiments does not constitute “agriculture.”

The nature of the experiments is not revealed in the USDA documents, but Primate Products manufactures several products used in monkey testing, including restraint devices.

According to Primate Products, the restrainer provides “trouble-free accessibility”

The disturbing revelations about the existing monkey breeding facility, Primate Products, come just two days after Drones for Animal Defense released aerial footage of the new one under construction — adding to a growing scandal that is being dubbed by the local press as “MonkeyGate.”

The drone footage, taken by an activist who was chased for miles by company employees, not only confirms the existence of Bioculture’s new monkey breeding center, but it also shows its massive scale. An investigative reporter who has researched the BioCulture facility – Amir Shuan with Israel’s largest newspaper Yedioth Ahronot, has said that it has the capacity to house 14,000 monkeys, which is more than three times the number of primates already held captive in Hendry County.

Drone footage of Bioculture’s partially-constructed monkey breeding facility in Hendry County, FL

On Monday, the same day that activists released the incriminating drone footage of the enormous facility under construction, county officials issued a press release denying that it’s new — stating that it is merely an expansion of Primate Products. During Tuesday’s press conference, however, Jane Velez-Mitchell of Jane UnChained challenged the county’s claim by pointing out that everything about Bioculture’s facility is new — the company, the buildings and the thousands of macaque monkeys that Bioculture hopes to import from overseas.

Today, the local Fire and Rescue District Commissioner, Matt Smith, gave area residents another reason to worry. In an interview with NewsPress, he said that first responders have not been briefed about how to handle emergencies at the facilities, echoing concerns raised by Velez-Mitchell at the earlier press conference: “In the event of a hurricane and the escape of hundreds or thousands of monkeys, what’s going to happen? Where’s the liability? Who’s ultimately responsible if these monkeys escape and bite people?”

Hundreds of non-native wild macaque monkeys with herpes B virus live in Florida (photo: Graham McGeorge/ Barcroft Media)

Florida state senator Dwight Bullard added to the chorus of residents criticizing the secrecy of Hendry County officials, saying the “solution is transparency from the individuals and organizations who are seeking to have a positive relationship with the community.”

Florida state senator Dwight Bullard hits the airwaves in 2014 to ask Hendry County to pause construction of Bioculture’s monkey breeding facility

Amidst the revelations of illegal experiments, a lack of emergency preparedness, and secrecy surrounding two new monkey breeding facilities, Hendry County residents appear to be waging a war with their public officials until the County hits the pause button on the Bioculture’s new monkey breeding facility. 

Please sign petition asking Hendry County officials to  halt construction of new monkey breeding facility.