Whistleblower reported deaths of more than 20 monkeys
By Delayna Earley
The Island News
The facility in Yemassee from which 43 monkeys escaped last month is under scrutiny once again.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal welfare group, is calling for an investigation into allegations that more than 20 monkeys died at Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee on Castle Hall Road due to a malfunctioning diesel heater that caused temperatures to fatally rise in the building where they were living.
Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel, a primate scientist with PETA, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) asking the agency to investigate the incident.
According to the statement put out by PETA, Jones-Engel said, “a diesel heater may have malfunctioned at the facility late on [November 22].”
The statement continued to say that the monkeys “likely endured agonizing deaths – either slowly roasted alive or suffocated by deadly carbon dioxide fumes,” per multiple whistleblower reports.
PETA was reportedly contacted by the whistleblowers that reported the monkey deaths.
The USDA’s Animal Care, a program that enforces the Animal Welfare Act and Horse Protection Act, told PETA that it would take 30 to 60 days to investigate the complaints.
Alpha Genesis’ facility in Yemassee houses roughly 4,000 monkeys.
The whistleblower’s complaint was submitted anonymously and alleged that there was an ongoing cover-up, which PETA included in their submission to the USDA.
The monkeys are used for biomedical research at the facility, and they breed monkeys and provide nonhuman primate products and bio-research services worldwide, according to the company’s website.
In early November 2024, 43 rhesus macaque monkeys escaped from the facility drawing attention internationally.
The monkeys escaped after an employee left their enclosure open while cleaning it and feeding the animals.
As of the beginning of December there are still four monkeys that have not been recaptured.
Alpha Genesis did not respond to request for comment before press time.
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.
