The Beaufort Co. Research Center is “keeping an eye on” 43 missing monkeys, officials say

YEMASSEE, S.C. (WCSC) – Yemassee Police have confirmed that nearly four dozen primates that escaped from a research center in Beaufort County have been located but have not yet been recaptured.

Police received a report around 1 p.m. on Wednesday that a group of rhesus macaques had escaped from their enclosures at the Alpha Genesis Research Center. The property is located on Castle Hall Road, just minutes from the small town of Yemassee.

Police say Alpha Genesis teams are working to trap them with food.

“It's really just a wait and it's frustrating because we'd like to have her back sooner or later. You can't track them because they scatter. “As they are, they should stay in the same area and we should see some come back,” says Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis.

The herd consists entirely of young females, each weighing about 6 to 7 pounds. Alpha Genesis reports that none of these animals were used for testing and are “too young” to transmit disease.

“It was 100% due to human error. The caretaker who normally looks after these monkeys went into the enclosure and failed to secure two doors behind her,” says Westergaard.

Longtime business owners and neighbors in Yemassee say an escaped monkey isn't a shock and many are used to the facility's proximity.

“That was the surprise, the number. We’ve even seen one or two on the side of the road, but we’ve never heard of so many coming loose,” says Charlotte Murray, owner of Lowcountry Living Room.

“Crazy, someone must have left the door open or something, I don’t know. Everyone in Yemassee has been talking about it all day today,” said Jay Cook, owner of Jerry's Tow and Garage. “We know this road as Monkey Farm Road.”

The Alpha Genesis website claims that its research uses “specific pathogen-free” primate models.

The facility faced U.S. Department of Agriculture violations, including a warning in 2022 and a fine in 2017. The 2022 notice alleges the center violated policies governing the housing, handling and veterinary care of primates violated.

The 2017 report comes from a document published by the animal rights group Stop Animal Exploitation Now, which imposed a $12,600 fine for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Two of these violations included failure to secure primates.

We previously reported that there was no critical notice violation at Alpha Genesis. However, after further review, the center received a notice from the USDA in 2023. The violation was related to improper maintenance of the enclosures, which could have negative effects on the health of primates.

A primate experimentation expert from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a statement claiming the facility's recent actions “endanger the public and consistently fail to improve human health.”

“They breed, they import, they sell and they experiment on monkeys. Generally these are macaques. “Alpha Genesis has about 6,000 macaques in its colonies,” says Dr. Lisa Jones Angel. “They're scared, they're hungry, they're cold, they're wet. I mean, it rained last night. They try to get as far away as possible.”

Since 2022, Alpha Genesis has not experienced another “critical” violation of the law.

South Carolina Congressional District 1 Representative Nancy Mace released the following statement in a post to X:

We are carefully gathering all relevant information to keep our constituents informed about the recent escape of primates from Alpha Genesis Inc. in Beaufort County. Our office is in direct communication with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and is working closely with their team to monitor and assess the situation. We will withhold formal statements until we fully understand all the facts. Stay tuned…

Police and officials are asking the public to stay away from the area of ​​the Castle Hall Road facility as the monkeys are nasty and any additional noise or movement could result in them not being recaptured.

Authorities say anyone who finds one of the monkeys should not approach the animal and call 911 immediately.

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