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Safer Human Medicine recently announced its acquisition of a primate warehouse in LaBelle, Florida. In a press release, the company states that the facility will be used as a quarantine facility, planned to operate alongside the proposed Bainbridge facility.

“This investment gives SHM a unique opportunity to accelerate its holding and quarantine operations for non-human primates (NHPs) while supporting the development of its larger husbandry facility set for construction in Bainbridge, Georgia,” the press release stated.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have spoken out about the facility, pointing out that the purchase is between Charles River Laboratories and SIMI United States, LLC. SIMI is a company incorporated earlier this year, with James Giovanoni, VP of Finance at SHM, listed as the president on documents acquired by PETA.

In their statement, PETA asserts that SIMI is a shell company created by SHM “to distance itself from the ferocious backlash over its stalled and legally entangled plans for a monkey facility in Georgia.” They also assert that, according to a whistleblower, there are plans to expand the facility to hold 20,000 long-tailed macaques, pointing to SHM’s purchase of surrounding parcels of land from Charles River as well.

In their response, a spokesperson for Safer Human Medicine asserted there is nothing improper about the use of SIMI.

“PETA has made a number of falsehoods that need to be fact-checked,” they said. “First, there is nothing wrong with creating an LLC for real estate holdings. In fact, it is a common financial practice for companies to create a separate LLC for this exact purpose.” They also stated there are no plans to expand the facility to house 20,000 animals.

“We are extremely confident in our ability to integrate the LaBelle site into our broader operational plans,” said Jim Harkness, CEO of Safer Human Medicine. “This acquisition not only accelerates our timeline for launching operations in Bainbridge but also ensures the highest safety and compliance standards as we expand.”

In a press release, SHM states that this facility will be operational before the Bainbridge facility, and will be used to train employees of the Bainbridge facility, though the spokesperson stated there is no definite start date. Read the full press release here. 

There have not been any further updates regarding the facility in Bainbridge.