Forty-three monkeys escape from South Carolina medical testing lab

Police chief says the animals, who escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility, are ‘harmless and a little skittish’

People are being urged to stay in their homes and keep their doors and windows locked after 43 monkeys escaped from a medical research lab.
The Rhesus macaques escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility in South Carolina on Wednesday after a new employee did not fully shut an enclosure, police said.
The monkeys are females weighing about seven pounds (three kilograms) and are so young and small that they have not yet been used for testing, police said.
Alpha Genesis employees “currently have eyes on the primates and are working to entice them with food,” police said in a statement.
“They are not infected with any disease whatsoever. They are harmless and a little skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said on Thursday morning.
The company usually handles escapes on site, but the monkeys got outside the compound about one mile (1.6 kilometres) from downtown Yemassee, Mr Alexander said.
He added: “The handlers know them well and usually can get them back with fruit or a little treat.”
But rounding up the escapees is taking some time. Alpha Genesis is taking the lead, setting up traps and using thermal imaging cameras to recapture the monkeys on the run, the chief said.
“There is almost no danger to the public,” he added.
People living nearby should shut their windows and doors so the monkeys cannot find a place to hide inside and if they see the primates, call 911 so company officials and police can capture them.
Alpha Genesis provides primates for research worldwide at its compound 50 miles (80 kilometres) northeast of Savannah, Georgia, according to its website.
The company has not yet issued a statement regarding the escape.
In 2018, federal officials fined Alpha Genesis $12,600 after dozens of primates escaped as well as for an incident that left a few others.
There were problems with how the monkeys were housed.
Officials said 26 primates escaped from the Yemassee facility in 2014 and an additional 19 got out in 2016.
The group Stop Animal Exploitation Now sent a letter to the US Department of Agriculture asking the agency to immediately send an inspector to the Alpha Genesis facility, conduct a thorough investigation and treat them as a repeated violator. The group was involved in the 2018 fine against the company.
“The clear carelessness which allowed these 40 monkeys to escape endangered not only the safety of the animals, but also put the residents of South Carolina at risk,” Michael Budkie, the executive director of the group, said at the time.
In 2018, Greg Westergaard, the chief executive of Alpha Genesis, confirmed the company had paid the fine and confirmed that all incidents had been self-reported by the company, according to an article on Stop Animal Exploitation Now’s website.
Alpha Genesis has since passed inspections with no significant complaints, and maintains accreditation from the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.
The Telegraph has contacted Alpha Genesis for comment.