A 75-Year-Old Palm Harbor Primate Sanctuary Faces Criticism After USDA Violations

PALM HARBOR, FL — A beloved 75-year-old Palm Harbor sanctuary for unwanted chimpanzees and monkeys is fighting for its survival after receiving multiple citations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for dilapidated animal enclosures and rusted fencing and equipment that could pose a hazard to the primates.

The Dec. 6 routine USDA inspections of the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary, previously known as the Chimp Farm, at 4600 Alternate U.S. 19, was prompted by a complaint from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals after a black-capped capuchin monkey named Jack escaped from its enclosure and through a perimeter fence, fleeing to the woods behind the sanctuary on Nov. 7.

Nancy Nagel, a board member of the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary Foundation, said volunteers were in the process of changing out enrichment toys in Jack's enclosure when the net they were using to keep Jack in a corner became snagged on the wall, allowing the 30-year-old, 6-pound capuchin to dart through the main door of the enclosure.

The capuchin was missing for 24 hours before he was captured.

"Escaped animals can get injured, especially when out in a wild wooded area," according to USDA inspector Patricia Laracuente, who conducted the inspection. "Primary enclosures must be designed and constructed to contain the species of non-human primate in them."

The sanctuary was given until Dec. 16 to correct the violation.

While investigating the capuchin's escape, the USDA conducted a facility-wide review, which concluded with the agency citing the nonprofit Suncoast Primate Sanctuary for multiple violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Among them, the USDA took the sanctuary to task for failing to have a program of veterinary care with an attending veterinarian to properly care for the animals covered under the sanctuary's USDA license.

Laracuente also said the sanctuary failed to provide disposition documents for two kinkajous that no longer lived at the sanctuary, including where the animals had been taken.

"This information was not found by facility representatives, and they could not say where these animals went," Laracuente said in her report. "This information is required to track the movement of animals within the country and its territories."

Additionally, Lacuente said enrichment toys and play equipment such as slides and jungle gyms were "heavily soiled and did not appear to have been recently sanitized."

"Enrichment items that are not properly sanitized ... can lead to disease in these animals," she said.

Other violations noted by Lacuente included worn and rusted enclosures and play equipment. She said the rust made it difficult to clean and sanitize the enclosures and equipment.

One primary enclosure housing two rhesus macaques had a 2- to 3-inch-wide gap between the enclosure fence and the concrete floor, and a macaque was able to stick its entire leg out of the primary enclosure through the gap, she said, noting that a primate could conceivably get a limb or head stuck in the gap, causing injuries.

She said five of the off-exhibit enclosures for primates under treatment for diabetes had metal pipes with sharp, jagged edges that were placed between the enclosure fence and access gate, which could injure the animals.

Additionally, an enclosure housing a Japanese snow macaque contained untethered fencing between connected enclosures that the macaque was able to pass through.

Enrichment toys in some of the primary enclosures such as barrels, tube tunnels, swings and slides had cracks, broken edges and sharp points that posed a hazard to the animals, she said.

Multiple PVC tubes used to feed the animals "were heavily soiled inside," which could "lead to digestive or health issues and attract pests that can be detrimental to the health and welfare of nonhuman primates," Laracuente reported. "Food and food receptacles, if used, must be located so as to minimize any risk of contamination by excreta or pests. Food receptacles must be kept clean and must be sanitized."

Finally, the sanctuary received a failing grade for lacking written primate enrichment programs approved by an attending veterinarian.

The sanctuary was given deadlines ranging from Dec. 16 to March 6 to correct these problems.

PETA officials were far harsher in their assessment of the primate sanctuary.

“This shoddy facility exploits wild animals who belong in nature, not inside damaged enclosures that endanger their safety and deny them everything that’s natural and important to them,” said PETA Foundation Director for Captive Animal Welfare Debbie Metzler. “PETA asks the public to steer clear of roadside zoos and urges Suncoast to release these animals to a 'real' sanctuary that helps animals instead of exploiting them.”

Patch reached out to the directors of the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary for comment regarding PETA's accusation but did not hear back.

Metzler noted that this isn't the first violation the facility has received.

"The USDA had repeatedly fined the Chimp Farm before ultimately taking the extremely rare action of revoking its license in 1999," she said. "Yet nine years later, the granddaughter of the original owners (Debbie Cobb) was inexplicably permitted to reopen the facility under its current name."

The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary was again censured and fined in 2011 after two chimpanzees escaped and one seriously injured a volunteer.

Now owned and operated by the nonprofit Suncoast Primate Sanctuary Foundation Inc., the 12-acre facility was founded by Robert and Anna Mae Noelle in 1948 as Noelle’s Ark as a home for unwanted orangutans, chimps and monkeys, as well as some alligators, snakes, tortoises and exotic birds.

All of the animals at the sanctuary were rescued from laboratories, circuses, the entertainment industry, pet owners who can no longer care for the animals and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Many of them were abused by former owners.

Cobb, along with her mother and uncle, inherited the facility when her grandmother, Anna Mae Noelle, died in 2000.

See related: Primate Sanctuary Desperately Needs Donations During Shutdown

"The sanctuary provides these magnificent animals with a safe haven and forever home to live out their lives in peace and with dignity," said Cobb during an interview in 2020. "Our volunteers work seven days a week to provide clean enclosures, a well-balanced and nutritional diet, enrichment activities, exemplary health care, and more. Many of the animals are elderly and require special attention. In fact, the sanctuary has a few residents that have lived here since the 1960s."

The sanctuary receives no state or federal funding.

"It costs thousands of dollars each month just to maintain the sanctuary," Cobb said. "Basic needs such as food, medicine, veterinary care and utilities add up very quickly."

To help pay the rising costs of feeding and caring for the 100 animals, the sanctuary opened to the public in 2008, accepting a nominal admission fee ($15 for adults and $10 for children) at the gate.

Last year, the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary Foundation Inc. assumed ownership of the facility from Cobb and her family. The sanctuary is now overseen by a board of directors headed by President Christy Holley with the help of board directors Ken Peltier and Lori Weltz.

In the months since taking over the facility, the board has launched an ambitious capital campaign to raise money to renovate the facility.

"SPSFI is run entirely by volunteers and we're here 24/7/365 to provide these animals with love, dignity and a forever home," Peltier said in an appeal for donations. He acknowledged that the facility has had its ups and downs over the years but said the current board is committed to transparency and improving the living conditions of the animals that live at the sanctuary, including replacing the current enclosures with a more natural environment.

"Our animals come first," he said.

Nevertheless, PETA said the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary doesn't deserve to call itself a sanctuary.

"Many cruel roadside zoos and breeding facilities are now marketing their animal prisons as 'sanctuaries' or 'rescues' and claiming to support species conservation in order to attract customers," PETA said on its website.

"Reputable sanctuaries make every effort to replicate an animal’s natural habitat. Animals who are members of social species should share their space with suitable partners who can provide companionship and emotional stimulation. Cramped pens with concrete floors or enclosures with pacing paths worn along the perimeter are red flags," PETA said.

PETA added that reputable sanctuaries are accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. Greatnonprofits said Suncoast Primate Sanctuary isn't accredited by either organization.

According to Guidestar, an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies, the sanctuary's revenues last year were $155,967 and its expenses were $405,467.