Search underway for escaped monkeys in Yemassee. Keep doors and windows closed, police say
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 43 Rhesus macaque monkeys had escaped from the Alphas Genesis facility on Castle Hall Road.
All of the monkeys are females, Town Clerk Matthew Garnes said, which are more likely to congregate. They weigh 5-6 pounds and are probably going to be skittish, he said.
When monkeys have escaped in the past, all of the animals have been captured, said Garnes, at least since he began his job in 2017.
A new employee assigned to the facility left three doors open, allowing the monkeys to escape, Garnes said. The were discovered missing at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Traps have been strategically placed in the area in attempts to capture the escapees. Yamassee police said they were assisting by using thermal imaging cameras to locate the animals.
There is no health risk associated with the animals but 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 every day 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 escaped 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 U.S. 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 Genesis also has a 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.” In 2021, Congresswoman Nancy Mace took a trip to that island two years ago to raise awareness about Alpha Genesis’ research.
Stop Animal Exploitation Now! (SAEN), an Ohio-based national watchdog that monitors research facilities, said Thursday it had filed a complaint with Sarah J. Helming, deputy administrator of the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, calling for an investigation into potential violations of animal handling and housing regulations.
The complaint calls for the maximum penalty of $12,722 per infraction per animal. It was the latest of several complaints the animal rights organization has filed against the facility in recent years.
“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,” SAEN Executive Director Michael Budkie said in a press release.
Budkie pushed back on claims that the escaped monkeys posed no risk to residents, advising that non-human primates can cause “serious bite wounds” to people or pets. He said that monkeys living in such facilities are “severely stressed” and that “the sight of a person could be a negative stimulus.”
Unlike other animals, monkeys are unable to be truly domesticated, Budkie added.
“They’re always trying to escape,” he said.
This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 8:48 AM.
