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A police search is underway after 43 monkeys escaped from a research
facility in South Carolina on Wednesday night.

Police in Yemassee, Beaufort County, said the Rhesus macaque primates
escaped from Alpha Genesis, a business that provides "nonhuman primate
products and bio-research services," according to its website.

The monkeys were a group of "very young females" that have never been
used for testing. An Alpha Genesis spokesperson confirmed to police that
the animals "are too young to carry disease," according to police statement.

"Alpha Genesis currently have eyes on the primates and are working to
entice them with food," police said Thursday afternoon.

Traps have also been set up and officers are using thermal imaging
cameras in an attempt to recapture the animals, police said.

“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to
prevent these animals from entering homes,” Yemassee Sheriff’s
Department said in a statement. Anyone who finds a monkey should not
interact with it but instead call 911, it said.

The company works with monkeys to carry out clinical trials, including
on brain disease disorder treatments, and says it has "one of the
largest and most comprehensive nonhuman primate facilities, designed specifically for monkeys, in the United States."

Alpha Genesis did not immediately respond to an overnight request for
comment from NBC News.

The company secured a federal contract to run a colony of 3,500 monkeys
on Morgan Island off the coast of South Carolina, also known as Monkey
Island.

The Post and Courier newspaper in Beaufort County reported that primate
escapes have happened several times before in the area, including in May
this year, and in 2016 when 19 evaded security at Alpha Genesis before
they were recaptured six hours later.

In 2022, three monkeys escaped following a traffic accident in rural Pennsylvania.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/monkeys-escape-alpha-genesis-research-facility-south-carolina-rcna179077

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