HENDRY COUNTY, FLa. - Animal rights activists in Southwest Florida are claiming victory after a judge allows a lawsuit against Hendry County to proceed to trial.
In 2014 the Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the county for violating the state's open records laws during the planning process for a new monkey breeding center near Bedmon Creek, by the Lee-Hendry County line.
ALDF supporters once again showed up at the county commission meeting Tuesday to express their displeasure at commissioners for ignoring abuses occurring at the existing facility, operated by Primate Products.
"Michael Swindle, at the end of this you're going to be Michael Swindler!," one protester shouted at the commission's chair Michael Swindle.
Commissioners fired back, accusing the animal right's activists of slander.
"I'm frustrated to hear this constant reminder and painting of us in a negative light," said District 4 Commissioner Karson Turner.
"We are not ignorant, they are full of secrets and lies," countered protester Madeliene Doran.
Turner says the specs for the new lab did not meet the threshold for a public hearing because the land didn't need to be rezoned.
"To put it bluntly, we hire staff to do their job, when staff feels that it meets the merit, and our legal team feels that it meets the merit to come before the chambers, that's when that occurs."
No trial date has been set, but Turner estimates it could start in March or April.
