Monkeys are on the loose in Yemassee, according to police, who are advising residents to keep their doors and windows closed.

Late Wednesday evening, police reported that 40 primates had escaped from the Alphas Genesis facility on Castle Hall Road.

Traps have been set up in the area in attempts to capture the escapees. Thermal imaging cameras also are being used in an attempt to locate the animals.

Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secure “to prevent these animals from entering homes,” police said.

Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Alpha Genesis is leading the effort to capture the monkeys.

“This is something they do everyday if a primate gets out of its enclosure,” Alexander told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet Thursday morning. “So they are very familiar with how to get them back.”

The monkey handlers often use fresh fruit and vegetables and bananas to lure the animals in, Alexander said.

“Usually,” said Alexander, “some of the staff have what I would say is a relationship with them. Some of them name them and they’ll come to them so they have the techniques they use to apprehend the primates.”

Escapes have happened before and police are not concerned, Alexander said, but the public should not attempt to pet or grab the monkeys if they see them, even though they are in good health.

“We’ve had people call us and say, ‘We’d love to have a pet monkey,’” said Alexander. “But they shouldn’t be used as pets.”

Police also are asking residents to contact 9-1-1 immediately if they see the monkeys and refrain from approaching them.

Alpha Genesis Inc. runs a primate research center and maintains a colony of 6,000 monkeys in rural Yemassee 25 miles northwest of Beaufort.

This isn’t the first time monkeys have escaped form the facility, known locally as the “monkey farm.”

In 2014, 26 monkeys escaped and 19 in 2016.

The controversial facility that breeds monkeys for research has been the target of criticism from animal rights groups over the research and treatment of the animals.

In 2018, Alpha was fined $12,600 by the federal government for six violations including the escape of some of the animals. The US Department of Agriculture leveled the fines for six violations that occurred between December 2014 and February 2016, according to a USDA document obtained by an animal rights group.

In 2020, the facility won a $4.6 million contract from the National Institutes of Health related to vaccine research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alphas Genesis says it sspecializes in providing specific-pathogen-free primates to the biomedical research community. With more than 100 acres of quarantine, breeding, holding and research space, it says, it is one of the largest primate facilities designed specifically for monkeys in the country.

The company is experienced in vaccine development, therapeutic drug therapies, viral pathogenesis, small molecule administration, pharmacokinetics and experimental surgical procedures, it says on its website.

Alpha did not specify what kind of primates but macaque monkeys are frequently used in its medical research.

Alpha Genesis, a leading primate research and development company, also has breeding site at the 4,000-acre Morgan Island just north of St. Helena Island across the Morgan River, which is home to some 3,500 rhesus macaque monkeys. Locals often refer to the island as “monkey island.”