More than 40 monkeys on the loose after escaping from research lab

More than 40 monkeys escaped from a research lab in a small town in the United States after an employee failed to properly shut an enclosure.

The 43 rhesus macaque monkeys fled from the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee, South Carolina, on Wednesday, according to a police statement issued the following day.

Police said the monkeys were all females weighing about 3kgs (6.6 pounds), too small and young to be used for testing.

“They are not infected with any disease whatsoever. They are harmless and a little skittish,” said Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander on Thursday, emphasising that they posed “almost no danger to the public”.

Alpha Genesis set up traps and used thermal imaging cameras to recapture the monkeys on the run. “The handlers know them well and usually can get them back with fruit or a little treat,” said Alexander.

Police urged residents of the town, which has a population of about 2,000, to keep their doors and windows “securely closed”, report any sightings immediately and refrain from approaching the monkeys “under any circumstances”.

Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, which provides primates for research worldwide, told CBS News he was “hoping for a happy ending” with the primates returning of their own volition.

“It’s really like follow-the-leader. You see one go and the others go,” he said of their escape.

However, this was not the first breakout from the lab. In 2018, federal officials fined Alpha Genesis $12,600 after dozens of primates escaped. There were other escapes in 2014 and 2016, with a total of 45 monkeys fleeing.

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 and to conduct a thorough investigation.

“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,” wrote Michael Budkie, the executive director of the group, in a letter.

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