People are asked to stay home and keep their doors and windows locked after 43 hours. monkeys escaped from a medical research laboratory.

Rhesus macaques escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility in South Carolina on Wednesday after a new employee failed to completely seal the enclosure, police said.

The monkeys are females weighing about three kilograms and are so young and small that they have not yet been used for testing, police said.

Alpha Genesis employees “currently have their eyes on the primates and are working to lure them with food,” police said in a statement.

“They are not infected with any disease. They’re harmless and a little nervous,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday morning.

“Almost no danger to the public”

The company usually handles escapes on site, but the monkeys got out of the enclosure about a mile from downtown Yemassee, Mr. Alexander said.

He added: “Handlers know them well and can usually collect them with fruit or a small treat. »

But rounding up the escapees takes time. Alpha Genesis is taking the lead, setting traps and using thermal cameras to capture fleeing monkeys, the chief said.

“There is almost no danger to the public,” he added.

People living nearby should close their windows and doors so the monkeys can’t find a place to hide inside, and if they see the primates, call 911 so company officials can the police can capture them.

Alpha Genesis supplies primates for research worldwide from its complex 50 miles northeast of Savannah, Georgia, according to its website.

The company has not yet released a statement regarding the escape.

Establishment fined for previous monkey escape

In 2018, federal authorities fined Alpha Genesis $12,600 after dozens of primates escaped as well as for an incident that left a few others behind.

There were problems with the way the monkeys were housed.

Officials said 26 primates escaped from the Yemassee center in 2014 and another 19 escaped in 2016.

The group Stop Animal Exploitation Now sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture asking the agency to immediately send an inspector to the Alpha Genesis facility, conduct a thorough investigation and treat them as repeat violators. The group was involved in the fine imposed on the company in 2018.

“The obvious negligence that allowed these 40 monkeys to escape not only endangered the safety of the animals, but also endangered the people of South Carolina,” Michael Budkie, the group’s executive director, said at the time. .

In 2018, Greg Westergaard, chief executive of Alpha Genesis, confirmed that the company had paid the fine and that all incidents had been self-reported by the company, according to an article on the Stop Animal website Operating Now.

Alpha Genesis has since passed inspections without any significant complaints and maintains accreditation from the Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.

The Telegraph has contacted Alpha Genesis for comment.

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