People are being urged to stay in their homes and keep their doors and windows locked after 43 monkeys escaped from a medical research laboratory.

The rhesus monkeys escaped from the Alpha Genesis facility in South Carolina on Wednesday after a new employee failed to fully close an enclosure, police said.

The monkeys are females that weigh about three kilos and are so young and small that they have not yet been used for testing, police said.

Employees of Alpha Genesis “are currently monitoring the primates and attempting to entice them with food,” police said in a statement.

“They are not infected with any disease. They are harmless and a little skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday morning.

‘Almost no danger to the public’

Usually the company handles escapes on site, but the monkeys emerged outside the compound about a mile from downtown Yemassee, Alexander said.

He added: “The handlers know them well and can usually get them back with fruit or a small treat.”

But rounding up the refugees takes time. Alpha Genesis is taking the lead, setting up traps and using thermal imaging cameras to recapture the fugitive monkeys, the chief said.

“There is virtually no danger to the public,” he added.

People living nearby should close their windows and doors so that the monkeys cannot find a place to hide inside. If they see the primates, they should call 911 so company officials and police can capture them.

Alpha Genesis supplies primates for research around the world at its compound, 50 miles northeast of Savannah, Georgia, according to its website.

The company has not yet issued a statement about the escape.

Facility fined for previous monkey escape

In 2018, federal officials fined Alpha Genesis $12,600 after dozens of primates escaped and for an incident in which a few others were left behind.

There were problems with housing the monkeys.

Officials said 26 primates escaped from the Yemassee facility in 2014 and another 19 in 2016.

The group Stop Animal Exploitation Now sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture asking them to immediately send an inspector to the Alpha Genesis facility, conduct a thorough investigation and treat them as repeat offenders. The group was involved in the 2018 fine against the company.

“The apparent carelessness that allowed these 40 monkeys to escape not only jeopardized the animals’ safety, but also endangered the residents of South Carolina,” Michael Budkie, the group’s executive director, said at the time.

In 2018, Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard confirmed that the company had paid the fine and confirmed that all incidents were self-reported, according to an article on the Stop Animal Exploitation Now website.

Alpha Genesis has since passed inspections without any significant complaints and holds accreditation from the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.

The Telegraph has contacted Alpha Genesis for comment.

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