YEMASSEE, S.C. (WCSC) - Officials at the Alpha Genesis Research Center have confirmed that, as of Friday morning, the monkeys are still loose.

In a statement, Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard shared that the monkeys are grabbing food from staff before running away again. The monkeys are staying nearby, but are just looking at staff.

Westergaard’s statement reads as follows:

“We’ve got eyes on the fence line where they are. The good news is they’re staying close by. They’re just being goofy monkeys jumping back and forth playing with each other. It’s kind of like a playground situation here. We’ve got the traps baited but they aren’t going inside them yet. We’re putting their food out. We’re putting fruit and vegetables out and they’re jumping down and taking the food and then jumping back up on the fence and the tree line. They’re watching us the same way we’re watching them. We haven’t gotten any back yet. I know it’s a long process but it’s the best way to do it. If you go and try to chase them, they’ll get spooked and run away. We’ve got them very close. This is all like what we want to see.”

Yemassee Police received a report at around 1 p.m. Wednesday that a group of Rhesus Macaque monkeys escaped from their enclosures at the Alpha Genesis Research Center. The facility, located off Castle Hall Road, is within minutes of the small town of Yemassee.

Crews from Alpha Genesis are continuing to try and trap them with food.

“It really is just waiting and it’s frustrating because we would like to have them back sooner or later. You can’t chase them because they scatter. In this form, they should stay in the same area and we should see some come on back,” Westergaard said Thursday.

The herd consists completely of young females weighing around 6 or 7 pounds each. Alpha Genesis reports none of these animals have been used in testing and are “too young” to carry disease.

“It came down 100% to human error. The caretaker who normally takes care of these monkeys went into the enclosure and failed to secure two doors behind her,” Westergaard said.

Longtime business owners and neighbors in Yemassee say an escaped monkey is not a shocker and many are used to the facility being nearby.

“That was the surprise, the number. We’ve seen one or two even beside the road before but we’ve never heard of this many getting loose,” Lowcountry Living Room Owner Charlotte Murray said.

“Insane, somebody must’ve left the door open or something, I don’t know. Everyone in Yemassee has pretty much been talking about it all day today,” Jerry’s Tow and Garage Owner Jay Cook says. “We know that road as Monkey Farm Road.”

The Alpha Genesis website claims their research uses “specific pathogen free” primate models.

The facility faced violations from the United States Department of Agriculture, including a warning filed in 2022 and a fine in 2017. The 2022 notice claims the center violated guidelines for primate housing, handling and veterinary care.

The 2017 report comes from a document released by the animal rights group Stop Animal Exploitation Now, which reported a $12,600 fine for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Two of those violations included failure to secure primates.

The center also received a note from the USDA in 2023 for a violation was related to improper care of enclosures, which could produce negative health impacts on primates.

A primate experimentation expert from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a statement, claiming the recent actions of the facility “put the public at risk and consistently fail to improve human health.”

“They breed, they import, they sell and they experiment on monkeys. Generally, it’s macaques. Alpha Genesis has about 6000 macaques in their colonies,” Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel said. “They’re scared, they’re hungry, they’re cold, they’re wet. I mean it was raining last night. They are trying to get as far away as they can.”

South Carolina Congressional District 1 Representative Nancy Mace released the following statement in a post to X:

We’re diligently gathering all relevant information to keep our constituents informed regarding the recent escape of primates from Alpha Genesis Inc. in Beaufort County. Our office has been in direct communication with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and is working closely with their team to monitor and assess the situation. We are withholding any formal statements until we have a complete understanding of all the facts. Stay tuned…

Police and deputies are asking the public to stay clear of the area of the Castle Hall Road facility because the monkeys are skittish and any additional noise or movement could prevent them from being recaptured.

Authorities say anyone who locates one of the monkeys should not approach the animal and should immediately call 911.