Research facility at center of monkey escape controversy facing allegations of multiple primate deaths

YEMASEE, S.C. (WTOC) - Allegations of the mistreatment of monkeys at the Alpha Genesis Research Facility are being brought to light- the allegations, coming on the heels of 43 monkeys escaping the facility.

An email sent from PETA to the US Department of Agriculture claims that a whistleblower from inside the Alpha Genesis facility reached out to PETA about the situation- saying that at least 20 monkeys died.

Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel, the Senior Science Advisor for primates at PETA says that the whistleblower claims a diesel-powered heater was brought in over the weekend to help keep the monkeys warm, but that the room wasn’t monitored.

Someone allegedly returned to find 20 of the monkeys dead, from either heat stroke or from exposure to carbon monoxide.

Dr. Jones-Engel says she believes the facility needs to be shut down- and that people have a right to know what’s going on in it.

“This is an NIH funded facility, this is a taxpayer funded facility, it’s supposed to be a state-of-the-art facility. And you had a group of, a breeding group of endangered macaques, who were subjected to, what appears to be intense heat, no one was monitoring it, no one checked on the animals, there were no sensors in place, and you walk back the next morning and find a pile of dead monkeys. That’s ridiculous,” said Dr. Jones-Engel.

PETA forwarded the complaint to the USDA, who confirms to WTOC they have received detailed allegations against Alpha Genesis and are currently looking into whether there have been any violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

We’ve reached out to Alpha Genesis to comment about the allegations. They have not gotten back to us.

We’ve also been asking Alpha Genesis for weeks if all the monkeys that escaped have been captured, but haven’t been able to get an answer on that either.