YEMASSEE, SC (FOX Carolina) – An animal welfare organization said it will file a federal complaint after nearly four dozen primates escaped from a South Carolina research facility Wednesday and have yet to be captured.

Police received a report around 1 pm on Wednesday that a group of rhesus macaque monkeys escaped from their enclosures at the Alpha Genesis Research Center. The facility is located in the small Lowcountry town of Yemassee.

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Now, the group Stop Animal Exploitation Now says it will file a federal complaint accusing the research center of neglect.

The group also mentioned that this is not the first time this has happened.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now issued the following statement:

Records show the monkeys previously escaped from the facility in 2022 and also in 2016.

Stay tuned as we work to keep you updated as the search for the monkeys develops.

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