YEMASSEE, S.C. (WCIV) — All 43 monkeys that had escaped a South Carolina research center towards the end of last year have been safely recaptured, the Yemassee Police Department announced Friday.
Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center on Castle Hall Road in Yemassee is the site where 43 rhesus macaques escaped in November of 2024.
The monkeys escaped after a new employee left a door open, according to Yemassee Town Administrator Matthew Garnes.
The incident sparked a heated reaction from Lowcountry Representative Nancy Mace, who said she sent a letter to the USDA and NIH demanding a briefing on the escape.
“For years, Alpha Genesis has racked up federal contracts and taxpayer dollars while consistently violating animal welfare laws and exposing the public to dangerous escapes,” said Rep. Mace. “ NIH and USDA need to step up and ensure South Carolinians don’t bear the risk of this lab's negligence.”
The escapes led to the United States Department of Agriculture launching investigations into reports of primate deaths at the biomedical research facility.
Federal inspection report records showed six separate incidents of monkeys opening or escaping from their primary enclosures were documented between January and August of 2022.
In May of 2016, ABC News 4 reported 19 monkeys escaped from Alpha Genesis but all were recaptured six hours later.