By Delayna Earley
The Island News
The research facility that was forced into the spotlight in November 2024 after 43 monkeys escaped from the Yemassee location is now facing federal scrutiny for not following animal welfare laws regarding a separate November incident that resulted in the death of 22 monkeys.
Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center on Castle Hall Road in Yemassee has been cited with a “critical” violation by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service after 22 monkeys died due to faulty heating units in the “outdoor housing facilities” on Nov. 22, 2024.
The inspection report, which was released publicly almost two months after the incident was inspected, states that a night husbandry team member was doing evening rounds when they saw many primates down in a field cage.
The employee acted quickly, according to the report, and was able to save 32 of the affected 54 monkeys, but 22 died. Necropsy and histopathology findings on the deceased primates showed that the animals likely died from exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) gas.
The USDA’s report says that “shelters provided with auxiliary heating that are unable to safely provide warmth can result in adverse health impacts, stress and extreme discomfort of the nonhuman primates housed therein.”
The report continues to say that the shelter must provide heat to the primates to keep ambient temperatures above 45 degrees Fahrenheit and in “accordance with generally accepted professional and husbandry practices.”
At the time of the inspection, which was in Dec. 2024, there were more than 6,400 monkeys being housed at the facility – Crab-eating Macaque, Rhesus Macaque and Brown Capuchin.
It is unclear at this time if there will be any fines resulting from this citation.
The incident resulted in a complaint filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) after they received reports of the incident by “whistleblowers” according to PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo.
“Despite receiving $19 million in contracts from the National Institutes of Health, agencies should be prohibited from throwing taxpayer dollars at a facility with a documented history of negligence, cruelty and deceit,” said Guillermo.
In taking to their Facebook account on Monday, Feb. 3, Alpha Genesis made a statement regarding the report and PETA’s comments in response to the report.
“Alpha Genesis respects the findings of the most recent USDA inspection report dated 12/12/2024. We do not respect the incendiary garbage put out this afternoon by PETA. In closing, PETA can again go f*** themselves,” the post, which was signed by Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard, said.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
