‘A feeling of obligation’: Galt sanctuary to be home to former research monkeys

Galt will soon be home to dozens of squirrel monkeys, after Sacramento County recently approved a private nonprofit facility to house primates that have been retired from laboratory research.

The Squirrel Monkey Haven has faced years of community pushback, with some neighbors concerned about noises, odors, diseases and potential escapes. But the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved the project Tuesday, after environmental reviews determined the sanctuary would not have a significant effect on the surrounding area.

The sanctuary, at 11859 N. Valensin Road, will not be open to the public and is set to accommodate up to 55 squirrel monkeys that could otherwise be euthanized after being used for behavioral research, according to application documents submitted by the owners.

“There’s a feeling of obligation to see they live out their lives peacefully,” said Nick Avdis, an attorney representing the haven’s owners. A squirrel monkey can live as long as 20 years or more in captivity.

The facility includes 18 outdoor kennels attached to an indoor kennel, which are surrounded by an additional fence lined with trees and bushes. It appears to be the first large-scale squirrel monkey sanctuary in the area outside of regional zoos.

Christine Buckmaster, one of the property owners, told residents during a community forum in May 2017 that the squirrel monkeys are clean, and they sound like birds when chattering, according to the Galt Herald.

The highest level of noise, during periods when monkeys get agitated and shriek, would be below the standard 55 decibels reported in outdoor areas, according to a noise analysis conducted by the county, planning director Leighann Moffitt told the board Tuesday.

“The outdoor kennel area, if this was a dog versus squirrel monkeys, would be less than a comparable dog barking,” Moffitt told the board. Overall, staff found that the project meets all development requirements for approval.

In addition, the National Research Council considers squirrel monkeys a low-risk species for zoonotic transmission – the transmission of disease from animals to humans – and the haven will be required to create an emergency plan including notifying the Sheriff’s Office if an escape occurs.

“It’s been looked at six ways to Sunday I’d say, and I think the process worked. All potential environmental impacts of the project have been fully disclosed,” Avdis told the board Tuesday.

Buckmaster, a psychiatry and psychology researcher at Stanford University who has worked extensively with primates, applied for a permit to construct the sanctuary more than two years ago along with Paul Buckmaster, a Stanford professor with a veterinarian medicine background.

“There is a huge trend in testing facilities to retire the monkeys instead of euthanizing them. And that is what we are working towards,” she told ABC10 in October 2017.

Christine Buckmaster declined to comment on the sanctuary until after it is completed later this year.

This story was originally published July 24, 2019 at 2:40 PM with the headline "‘A feeling of obligation’: Galt sanctuary to be home to former research monkeys."