- Residents escalate legal action: Citizens filed a temporary restraining order to stop Safer Human Medicine from building a primate facility in Bainbridge, Georgia.
- County shifts stance: Decatur County Commissioners joined the effort, filing their own TRO through the county attorney.
- Watch the story to learn what additional court cases involving SHM remain open.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
A new development has emerged in the ongoing effort to stop the proposed Safer Human Medicine (SHM) primate facility from setting up in Bainbridge, Georgia.
Since the start of 2024, residents of Decatur County have raised serious concerns about local leaders’ decision to partner with a company that could potentially bring up to 30,000 primates into the community. That concern has now escalated into a legal standoff.
This week, four citizens who previously filed a legal complaint against county officials took further action by submitting a temporary restraining order (TRO) against SHM and the Bainbridge-Decatur County Development Authority. Their goal: to halt any construction activity tied to the facility.
In a significant turn, the Decatur County Board of Commissioners appears to be aligning with the opposition. On Thursday, the county’s legal representative, Bruce Kirbo, filed an additional TRO on behalf of the commissioners, effectively co-signing the effort to stop SHM from moving forward.
According to residents opposing the project, the commissioner's decision to join the legal action is a sign that local leadership may be rethinking its position.
“This is the first time we’ve felt like the county is truly listening,” one opponent told me.
Three other court cases involving Safer Human Medicine remain open, indicating that this legal battle is far from over.
WTXL will continue to follow this developing story and provide updates as they become available.
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