PETA demands proof of recaptured monkeys from Alpha Genesis research facility after escape

Officers with the Yemassee Police Department are working to locate several primates after they escaped from a nearby research center, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. (Yemassee PD on Facebook)

monkeys

YEMASSEE, S.C. (WCIV) — Animal rights nonprofit PETA on Thursday is demanding proof the 43 primates that escaped from a research facility in Yemassee last year, were indeed recovered by the research facility as they claimed last week. Officials from Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center, located on Castle Hall Road, announced Friday the last of the rhesus macaques that escaped in November of 2024 were successfully recaptured.

The monkeys escaped after a new employee left a door open, according to Yemassee Town Administrator Matthew Garnes.

A statement from the animal rights group reads in part,

PETA highly doubts that Alpha Genesis has recaptured all the escaped monkeys, and we demand proof of life, including the release of the records identifying the monkeys and evidence that the animals correspond to that paperwork. Since the monkeys who were allegedly recaptured should never be used for any scientific studies—their exposure to wildlife and other unknowns would compromise experimental results—PETA again asks the National Institutes of Health to release the animals.

PETA goes on to say they’ve received funding from a donor and an accredited sanctuary where they will welcome the primates, should Alpha Genesis release them. They also accuse Alpha Genesis of lying about their history with primates. “We want to see the proof,” the statement concludes.

Greg Westergaard, President and CEO of Alpha Genesis, on Friday provided the following statement in response:

All of the animals have been safely recovered and are in excellent health. I would like to thank the Town of Yemassee, and all of the fine people of Beaufort and Hampton Counties for their generous assistance and continued support. It was truly a team and community effort.

The escapes last year led to the United States Department of Agriculture launching an investigation in November into reports of primate deaths at the biomedical research facility.