Mazor Farms has appealed a ruling barring the transport of 90 monkeys to Shin Nippon Biological Laboratories in the United States for research purposes. The farm has filed a 3-million shekel suit against the Israel Nature and Parks Authority decision, citing damages.

Animal welfare groups from throughout Israel and other countries protested the shipment of the primates, which were to be used in toxicity tests by the American lab.

In a petition signed by 8,433 animal lovers worldwide, the group stated that the 50 hours spent in small crates constitutes “severe conditions that the monkeys will have to go through until their arrival to the laboratory,” calling it “a harsh abuse, which is in itself a reason enough to reject the request out of hand.”

The group also claimed that Mazor Farms failed to provide adequate documentation on the exact nature of the experiments, potentially causing the captive and wild born monkeys unneeded suffering.

“The Israel Nature and Parks Authority, responsible for the protection of wild animals, is obligated to make sure that no animals are sent from Israel to such a place,” the group wrote in its open letter to Shaul Goldstein, who heads the committee.

Originally, the Supreme Court ruled that only the 40 captive born primates could be shipped, disallowing the 50 captured monkeys from leaving Israel. However, after animal welfare groups threatened a boycott of El-Al, the Israeli airline refused to ship any primates used in experimentation aboard their aircraft.

“The entire suit looks like a desperate attempt to minimize the damage they caused themselves with that last shipment. Their chances of success are slim to none, but either way, the monkeys are safe,” the Shut Down Mazor Farm group wrote on Facebook after learning of Mazor Farm’s lawsuit and appeal.