South-Carolina
Monkeys still on the loose in South Carolina as authorities scramble to recapture them
Forty-three monkeys,who escaped their facility in South Carolina, were still on the loose Friday morning, the Yemassee Police Department told USA TODAY, though they had been located and efforts were being made to recapture them.
The rhesus macaques primates, described as “very young females weighing approximately 6 – 7 lbs,” escaped from Alpha Genesis, a primate research facility in Yemassee, a small town about 26 miles from Beaufort, around 1 p.m. Wednesday, the Yemassee Police Department said in 5:50 p.m. advisory Thursday. The primates escaped after a caretaker failed to secure the doors, Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard said, according to the police department. It was initially reported that 40 monkeys escaped but the number has since been confirmed to be 43.
Police said the animals have never been used for testing given their young ages and size and a spokesperson of Alpha Genesis told police that “these animals are too young to carry disease.”
The monkeys are “believed to be in the wooded region surrounding the facility” and officers are assisting the Alpha Genesis staff, who were “attempting to entice the animals back using food,” in corralling the animals.
Residents advised to exercise caution, avoid area
Residents in Yemassee and surrounding areas were “strongly advised” to secure all doors and windows to prevent the animals from entering their homes.
Authorities have also advised residents to “refrain from approaching” or interacting with the monkeys and immediately call 911 if they see any of the escaped animals.
“These animals are highly sensitive and easily startled,” the Yemassee Police Department said. “The public is advised to avoid the area as these animals are described as skittish and any additional noise or movement could hinder their safe capture.”
This is not the first time that the monkeys escaped the facility. In 2016, 19 monkeys escaped from Alpha Genesis and were captured almost six hours later, according to The Post and Courier, while 26 monkeys escaped in December 2014.
Alpha Genesis − which conducts research projects for government, university, and private industry clients, according to their website − did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for a comment on the incident.
How many monkeys does Alpha Genesis have?
Alpha Genesis has approximately 5,000 monkeys across two sites from Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. Species include marmosets, cynomolgus and rhesus macaques, African Greens, and several New World species.
While the primates escaped from the site on Castle Hall Road in Beaufort County, Alpha Genesis also has a site in neighboring Hampton County, per the Hampton County Guardian.
What is Alpha Genesis?
Alpha Genesis Inc. describes itself as the “world’s premier provider of the finest nonhuman primate products and services” on its website.
The facility says its “experienced and caring staff” is “dedicated to conducting humane research with nonhuman primates to advance knowledge in primate biology and to address human health concerns.”
Alpha Genesis President and CEO Dr. Greg Westergaard told The Hampton County Guardian during a 2011 interview that the facility is “primarily a breeding facility,” and that they raise the animals for “research purposes.”
“Our overall goal is monkey health and monkey reproduction,” Westergaard told the Hampton County Guardian. “We mostly raise animals for research purposes. We do some behavioral research here, and we do studies that are fairly low impact, like drawing blood.”
“None of the animals here are infected with any diseases, and the studies don’t represent any danger to the monkeys or the people here,” the CEO had said.
Alpha Genesis was established in 1964 to provide animals for polio vaccine research, per the Hampton County Guardian.
Animals raised in Yemassee are sold only to USDA-licensed research facilities, Alpha Genesis told the Hampton County Guardian, where they are used in compliance with current legal and ethical practices to further vaccine development and cures for a wide range of diseases: cancer, heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and more.
“I fully support alternatives to using animals for research… but I don’t see any way around it at this time,” Westergaard had said. “But I also support medical advancements that can help large numbers of people. Our goal is to keep the animals as healthy as possible and use as few as possible.”
Monkey Island
In March of 2023, Alpha Genesis also took over the management of South Carolina’s Morgan Island, also known as “Monkey Island,” home to about 3,500 rhesus monkeys, The Post and Courier reported.
Located off the coast of Beaufort, Morgan Island covers an area of more than 2,000 acres and is off-limits to humans, according to Travel and Leisure.
Morgan Island was previously owned and managed by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, while the monkey colony was owned by the National Institute of Allergy + Infectious Diseases.
Contributing: Michael M. DeWitt, Jr., Bluffton Today
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Six Republican candidates vying to become South Carolina’s next governor met in downtown Charleston for a wide-ranging debate that put abortion, infrastructure and the future of data centers at the center of the race.
The forum was held at the Sottile Theatre, where Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, Lowcountry businessman Rom Reddy and Attorney General Alan Wilson took the stage.
Questions included whether they would support a state hate crime law, how they would address concerns about growth and infrastructure, how to navigate collaboration, abortion and the future of data centers in the state.
One issue that drew near-unanimous opposition was state Senate Bill 1095, a proposed total abortion ban that passed out of committee earlier in the day. All of the candidates opposed the bill, but they differed on what they would do if it reached the governor’s desk.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
Norman said he would sign it.
“You know, this is an emotional issue, but I will tell you if this bill came to my desk as governor. If it passed the House and the Senate, I would sign it,” Norman said.
All of the other candidates on stage said they would veto the bill if it came across their desk as governor, with Reddy arguing the question should be decided by voters.
“The Supreme Court did not say the loudest voice in the ruling class prevails. It said it’s up to the people in the state, so let’s put it to a referendum,” Reddy said.
On infrastructure, candidates discussed reforming the South Carolina Department of Transportation and allowing private-sector involvement to help pay for improvements.
Wilson outlined ideas that included leasing interstate easements and expanding private express lanes.
“We privatized that grass between the interstates. We turn it into private express lanes that can be told we leased the easements on the sides of interstates to telecommunication companies and energy companies, and charge them for natural gas line and fiber optic fiber optic cables,” Wilson said.
Evette also pointed to public-private partnerships and the possibility of fast-pass lanes.
READ MORE | South Carolina governor candidates tout infrastructure, growth at business forum
“We want to make sure that we’re innovative public private partnerships coming in and creating fast pass lanes to allow people that are in a hurry to be able to utilize that,” Evette said.
The final question focused on data centers, with candidates agreeing corporations should “pay their way.”
“They should pay for their water. They should pay for their infrastructure, any roads around it, and we should look at what Governor Ron DeSantis has done in Florida with the large data centers that are coming to Florida. That should be the model in South Carolina and everywhere,” Mace said.
Kimbrell said the state should set limits to protect natural resources and guard against higher power costs for residents.
“Put parameters around data centers to ensure that the water consumption does not impact places like the ACE Basin,” Kimbrell said. “Ensuring that the Public Service Commission makes absolutely sure nobody’s power rate goes up and we try to get behind the meter energy grids in place so they can be self-sufficient.”
Two more debates are planned ahead of the primaries on June 9.
A bill that could make it a felony for doctors to perform an abortion is moving to the full South Carolina Senate with just a few weeks left in the legislative session.
The South Carolina Senate medical affairs committee continued a debate of Senate Bill 1095 on April 21 in Columbia. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, builds on a restrictive abortion bill that failed to progress in the fall.
The committee passed the measure in an 8-4 vote, moving it to the full Senate for consideration. Lawmakers have until May 14, the last day of the 2026 legislative session, to pass the bill for it to become law.
Senate Bill 1095, also called the “Unborn Child Protection Act,” bans performing an abortion or supplying abortion drugs. It makes it illegal for a woman to get an abortion, with the only exception being to save a pregnant woman’s life.
It also makes mifepristone and misoprostol Schedule IV controlled substances. Alprazolam (Xanax) and zolpidem (Ambien) are two other examples of Schedule IV substances.
Pro-Life Greenville, an anti-abortion organization based in Greenville, responded to the bill’s progress with “full endorsement” of the legislation.
“Unborn children, like all human beings, deserve to have their lives protected under law here in the Palmetto State,” Pro-Life Greenville stated. “Today’s vote by the SC Senate Medical Affairs Committee brings that urgent need one step closer to reality.”
Under the bill, a woman who has an abortion could face misdemeanor charges. The maximum sentence would be two years in jail with a $1,000 fine.
Those found guilty of performing an abortion or providing a pregnant woman with abortion-inducing drugs could face felony charges, a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail, and a possible $100,000 fine.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT), a firm opponent of the bill, decried the Senate committee passage. PPSAT Director of Public Affairs Vicki Ringer said in a statement that the bill will cost people their lives, and it will make it more difficult for women to get reproductive and pregnancy healthcare.
“Abortion bans have and will continue to cost people their lives,” Ringer stated. “As this ban inches closer to the governor’s desk, it is becoming increasingly clear just how many of our lives anti-abortion lawmakers are willing to endanger in service to their agenda.”
Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com
BARNWELL, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – An officer was injured, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has issued a Blue Alert for an “armed and dangerous” woman.
According to the Blue Alert, Cushman is wanted in connection with an officer being injured.
The location of the assault was Gardenia Road in Blackville, S.C.
On Monday night around 10:35 p.m., officials said they were looking for Lacey Cushman, 37, a white woman who is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs about 210 pounds.
According to SLED, she has brown eyes and an unknown hair color. Her hairstyle and clothing are unknown.
She was last seen driving a 2011 white Chevrolet Traverse with an S.C. tag, 706IRU, in Barnwell County.
Her last known direction of travel was toward Bamberg County.
If you see her or have information, call 911 immediately.
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