More than 40 monkeys are on the loose in US city after escaping from lab | Wildlife News

Police describe refugees who do not carry disease as “harmless and somewhat shy,” meaning they pose “almost no threat to the public.”

More than 40 monkeys escaped from a research laboratory in a small town in the US after an employee failed to properly lock an enclosure.

The 43 rhesus macaques escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee, South Carolina, on Wednesday, according to a police statement the following day.

Police said the monkeys were all females weighing about three kilograms (6.6 pounds) and were too small and young to be used in testing.

“They are not infected with any disease. They are harmless and a little shy,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday, emphasizing that they pose “almost no threat to the public.”

Alpha Genesis set traps and used thermal imaging cameras to capture the monkeys as they fled. “The handlers know them well and can usually bring them back with fruit or a small treat,” Alexander said.

Police urged residents of the town of about 2,000 to keep their doors and windows “safely closed,” report any sightings immediately and “under no circumstances” approach the monkeys.

Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, which provides primates for research around the world, told CBS News he is “hoping for a happy ending” if the primates return of their own accord.

“It’s really like following the leader. You see one go and the others go,” he said of their escape.

However, this was not the first outbreak from the laboratory. In 2018, federal officials fined Alpha Genesis $12,600 after dozens of primates escaped. There were further escapes in 2014 and 2016, with a total of 45 monkeys escaping.

The group Stop Animal Exploitation Now sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, calling on the agency to immediately send an inspector to the Alpha Genesis facility and conduct a thorough investigation.

“The apparent negligence that allowed these 40 monkeys to escape not only endangered the safety of the animals, but also endangered the residents of South Carolinians,” Michael Budkie, the group's executive director, wrote in a letter.