On Thursday, 43 monkeys escaped from a laboratory in Yemassee, South Carolina. Police said there was “pretty much no danger” but also warned that residents in the area should close their doors and windows.
King macaque monkeys escaped from the Alpha Genesis research facility after a staff member failed to seal the enclosure tightly. The escapees are young girls and weigh about three kilos. As reported, they were not used for testing due to their age.
– Monkeys do not suffer from any diseases. They are harmless and very shy, said Gregory Alexander of the Yemassee Police Department.
Police said there was “almost no danger” to residents. However, people living near the laboratory were asked to close their doors and windows and asked not to act on their own if the animals were found, but to call the emergency number. Alpha Genesis staff are “monitoring and trying to lure the monkeys with food,” the police assured.
On its website, Alpha Genesis says it conducts diagnostic tests on monkeys and also provides researchers with “biological products and materials derived from nonhuman primates, including serum, plasma and whole blood.”
In 2018, the lab was already fined after the monkeys escaped.
The animal welfare movement Stop Animal Abuse Now has asked the United States Department of Agriculture to immediately investigate the facility, which activists say has repeatedly violated animal welfare regulations.
Main image source: Shutterstock
