In October 2003, Florida Governor Jeb Bush announced that The Scripps Research Institute, a private biomedical research organization based in La Jolla, California, had chosen Palm Beach County as the location for its new East Coast facility. In his announcement, the governor likened the arrival of Scripps to the coming to Florida of Walt Disney World, NASA and even the invention of air conditioning! Bush promised that Scripps will result in new jobs and “life-saving” scientific discoveries.

If the plans for Scripps Research Institute Florida go ahead unchallenged, it will undoubtedly become one of the largest animal research facilities in Florida, using thousands of animals in experiments each year.

It is doubtful that the financial benefits from Scripps' arrival will ever equal the taxpayer's “investment.” Instead, the public’s money will likely benefit for-profit pharmaceutical companies. Scripps' directors and scientists have links with some of the largest biotech and pharmaceutical companies in the world, including Novartis, Genentech and IVAX.

In fact, the agreement between Scripps and the State of Florida (signed January 2004) specifies that, “...all discoveries, inventions and other technology developed by Scripps as a result, either directly or indirectly, of its Scripps Florida operations or its Scripps Florida employees shall be owned exclusively by Scripps . . . Nothing contained in this Agreement shall in any way limit or restrict the right of Scripps to commercialize or license its discoveries, inventions and other technology” (Operating and Funding Agreement, Section 3.4).

Mecca Farms is a 2,000-acre former orange grove in western Palm Beach County that Scripps originally chose as the site for its facility. The property is part of a sensitive rural ecosystem close to the Everglades, on the edge of a federally protected natural area (J.W. Corbett wildlife preserve). The area is important in providing water for the county’s drinking supply. It is home to white-tailed deer, otters, coyotes, bobcat, alligators, endangered wood storks, cranes, herons and migratory birds.

Construction began in September 2005, but in November a federal judge ruled against Palm Beach County in a lawsuit filed by environmental organizations, and construction was halted on Mecca Farms.

As Scripps looks for a new location for its permanent facility, Scripps employees are working in temporary labs on the Jupiter, Florida campus of Florida Atlantic University.

The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida shares Governor Bush's interest in discussing the development of drugs, and the use of animals in research.