Eight months after 22 monkeys died in Yemassee facility, USDA issues ‘official warning’
The United States Department of Agriculture issued an “official warning” to a Yemassee-based research and breeding facility where 22 monkeys died in November, likely from carbon monoxide exposure from a heating unit.
The notice of alleged violation marks the first enforcement action following the monkey deaths at the Alpha Genesis Inc., the same facility where 43 monkeys escaped and roamed the Lowcountry town last fall before they were eventually recaptured.
While the newly-issued warning does not constitute USDA’s finding of a formal violation, it allows the agency to pursue criminal charges if future violations take place within the facility’s gates.
In February, the USDA cited the facility for violating an animal welfare law.
The citation came after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a frequent facility critic, announced they had filed a complaint with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. PETA had been notified by a whistle blower that 22 monkeys had died from either being “roasted alive” or suffocating from deadly fumes.
In an incident report, the USDA said the monkeys appeared to have died from carbon monoxide exposure after a heating unit had been placed inside of an interior field cage.
At the time, Greg Westergaard, Alpha Genesis’ CEO, told the Island Packet that he was suspicious of how the carbon monoxide levels rose, since the heating unit had not been malfunctioning. Westergaard said he contacted the FBI, which came out and took a report.
Alka Chanda, vice president of laboratory oversight and special cases for PETA, described the official warning as the “end of the line” for this particular incident, noting it’s the most forceful step the USDA is authorized to take in a single case. Chanda said PETA monitors enforcement at the nation’s 1,100 laboratory facilities, where the USDA typically issues about three warnings per month.
The warning will not affect the facility’s daily operations, Westergaard wrote in an email, but security measures have been increased. The facility has enhanced employee background checks, tightened access protocols and upgraded its carbon monoxide detection systems.
Westergaard added that the two most recent USDA inspections at the facility, the most recent being in May, detailed the absence of any non-compliant items. Copies of the reports were sent to The Island Packet.
Messages and emails were left with representatives with the USDA for this story, but there was no response before publication.
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 3:41 PM.
