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In early November, 43 monkeys captured our hearts and attention when they broke free from Alpha Genesis, Inc.—a South Carolina facility that imports, breeds, and sells animals for experiments and conducts its own cruel and deadly testing.
Now, PETA has obtained credible whistleblower information that sheds new light on the dismal conditions the monkeys were desperate to escape.
Monkeys suffocated, frozen to death, fed moldy food or no food at all, and tails, tongues, and fingers severed. These are just a few of the allegations reported by the facility insider, which paint a stark picture of cruelty, negligence, and incompetence. Â
The Whistleblower’s Findings
According to the whistleblower, multiple animals have been found dead in their cages due to trauma, exposure to extreme temperatures, and untreated health conditions. Many monkeys’ bodies were riddled with signs of chronic malnutrition and neglect.
One monkey was found dead and covered in feces after her head became stuck in a chain link fence. Another evidently suffocated to death after being trapped under other monkeys, and an infant died after getting caught in a slide bolt lock. Yet another monkey strangled to death after becoming entangled in a piece of gauze.
Employees reportedly handle monkeys with reckless disregard—roughly capturing them by their tails and violently restraining the small animals—causing extreme stress and grievous, debilitating injuries. A worker carelessly pulled the squeeze mechanism in a monkey’s cage (used to pull monkeys forward for injections or capture), severing the animal’s tail in the process. Another monkey suffered a fracture to their upper arm bone after a staffer caught the animal in a net and then slammed the monkey to the ground. Inadequately trained staff routinely left cages unlocked and unsafe, leading to dead animals, fights between stressed monkeys, and injuries that required veterinary care, amputations, and euthanasia. Many monkeys suffered the devastating loss of at least half of their tongues, either during violent altercations with other monkeys or becoming ensnared in caging or chain links.
Alpha Genesis also mishandled outbreaks of parasites such as whipworms and pathogens, including Yersinia, shigella, and Campylobacter. The facility failed to notify the necessary health officials when these were found in monkeys and did not take adequate steps to reduce their spread.
Business as Usual
These allegations come on the heels of another whistleblower report that 22 endangered monkeys slowly roasted to death at the facility after a diesel heater malfunctioned.
Alpha Genesis also has a long, government-documented history of violating basic animal care laws. The USDA has cited the company numerous times after employee incompetence killed monkeys, including several who froze to death after being left out in the cold, a monkey who died of thirst after the water was turned off for maintenance and never turned back on, and an infant who became entangled in gauze and died.
Help Free the Monkeys
Monkeys will continue to suffer and die so long as they remain in the clutches of Alpha Genesis.
PETA is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health—which funds the primate prison with $19 million in contracts—to investigate the apparent violations of federal animal welfare laws.
YOU CAN HELP by urging the National Institutes of Health—which owns the 43 monkeys who escaped—to send them to a sanctuary to live out their lives in peace.
Send Monkeys to Sanctuary
