Monkey deaths, prior problems at research center, whistleblower reports

WARNING: STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT THAT MAY BE UPSETTING TO SOME VIEWERS

YEMASSEE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Moldy food, traumatic injuries and cage escapes – these are just some of the concerns outlined in documents from a whistleblower about conditions at a South Carolina monkey research facility.

Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center is under fire after 43 monkeys escaped their enclosure in early November. The incident has lawmakers and animal rights organizations calling for a federal probe into the facility.

The facility has been awarded more than $19 million this year from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is largely from taxpayer funding.

This is not the first time an escape has occurred.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now, a federal watchdog group opposed to all animal experimentation, filed a new federal complaint about problems at Alpha Genesis in 2021 and 2022. Below is a full copy of the complaint SAEN sent to the USDA on Monday:

Dr. Greg Westergaard, the CEO of Alpha Genesis released the following statement regarding the allegations:

“In the context of caring for over 10,000 monkeys, the size of a small city, adverse incidents do occur in isolation and as required are promptly reported to the proper regulatory agencies. AGI is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of animal care in a highly regulated industry, and our most recent USDA relicensing and inspection reports demonstrate that AGI maintains full compliance with the Animal Welfare Act. I do not recognize the email, and It is entirely possible that the photos were taken from another facility or were simply faked. I also cannot the authenticity of the remaining documents. SAEN is opposed to all use of animals to advance medical research and has a lengthy history of distributing unverified and misleading documents to various media outlets.”

All of Alpha Genesis’ USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reports since January 2023 have been free of non-compliance incidents.

The documents and images below from a whistleblower are included in the new federal complaint provided to FOX Carolina:

CAGE DANGERS

A macaque was found dead with her head stuck in a chain link fence, according to a necropsy report dated March 17, 2022. The report said the monkey’s body was “soaked in feces and water.” Hypothermia and acute dehydration are listed as the causes of death.

An email from May 8, 2022 says a young monkey strangled itself with gauze that was used to secure a Pedialyte bottle. According to the email, the bottle holders at the research center did not fit the bottles and they were being tied or taped to cages.

An incident report dated August 3, 2022 said a water line in one building was punctured, causing water to flood four cages holding Rhesus macaques. The document says maintenance had not repaired the issue 17 hours after it was first reported. Water reportedly overflowed in pans in the top two cages which caused it to pour into the bottom two cages. Multiple primates “were shivering from being soaked in water for 17 hours,” the report states. “Maintenance failed to repair the punctured flex line from the day before, resulting in unnecessary discomfort and animal welfare concerns,” the document states.

An APHIS report from Sept. 20, 2022 confirms the death of the young monkey found strangled with gauze. It also states that in two separate incidents in July 2022, two animals had fingers become entrapped in structures inside their enclosures. Both were found dead with their fingers still trapped.

DEADLY ESCAPES

A graphic necropsy report from Oct. 1, 2021 said a baby monkey died after escaping from his cage and being attacked by an alpha male from another group. The report says the monkey, which was just over two months old and weighed half a pound, had its left arm “ripped off” at the elbow. The monkey also suffered severe wounds to its leg, face and chest.

“Due to severity of wounds and presence of shock, humane endpoint reached,” the report said.

An incident form from July 27, 2022 said a broken cage allowed two monkeys to have “causing severe trauma and ultimate euthanasia of one NHP [non-human primate].”

NOT ENOUGH FOOD

An incident form dated July 30, 2022 said monkey were not being washed or fed according to standard operating procedure. The person writing the report said multiple cages, food, bowls, and enrichment toys were covered in mold.

“[P]eople aren’t doing their jobs,” a veterinarian wrote in an email on Aug. 18, 2022 after examining monkeys in one of the center’s buildings. The doctor said a “vast majority of cages had minimal or no food whatsoever.”

The email lists four monkeys that had reportedly lost between 16 and 21 percent of their body weight. Two of the monkeys had moldy food in their cages and one had no food at all, the email states.

“I will repeat, this is a serious animal welfare violation and if USDA were to come in and see this we’d be getting hit with a hefty penalty,” the email said, which appears to have been sent to multiple employees. “This should not be taken lightly and people need to be held able.”

An APHIS report also confirms moldy food was found during inspections in 2023.

EMPLOYEE-INVOLVED INCIDENTS

An email from Feb. 4, 2022 said a monkey that was a “known escape artist” got out of its cage and was tranquilized with “way too much ketamine.”

“The dart hit his upper right arm and it is now shattered,” the email states. “He is going to require an arm amputation due to the severity of the comminuted fracture.”

The employee reporting the incident wrote that they were not sure why the monkey was darted instead of being given time to return to his cage but “the damage he sustained is just not worth it and makes no sense to cause this much trauma to him.”

An incident form dated June 27, 2022 said a vet tech was called to a situation where a monkeys tail was severed during “processing.” The form said the injury appeared to have “occurred by the tail being caught in the squeeze.” The monkey’s tail was held together by skin but the ligaments were severed and the vertebra was crushed. It was amputated, removing 15 inches of the monkey’s tail.

An undated email stated that a young monkey was found unconscious with critically low blood sugar. “Processing had been in there sedating earlier in the morning,” the email stated, and the monkey appears to have been left unattended before it woke up. “There really is no excuse for this to occur,” the email said.

An APHIS report from Sept. 20, 2022 said six separate incidents were reported where animals were returned to incorrect enclosures, including one where an animal was found dead. Four others required veterinary care. USDA inspectors said the facility revised standard operating procedures and “made significant changes in how animal returns are conducted and monitored.”

NEW FEDERAL COMPLAINT

Stop Animal Exploitation Now is filing a new federal complaint against Alpha Genesis in light of the documents released to them by a whistleblower.

Below is an excerpt of the letter from SAEN Executive Director Michael Budkie to the USDA about the incidents:

“How do so many escapes happen? How are monkeys left with insufficient/moldy food? Why is a likely sedated animal left unattended? Why are monkeys left in a water spray from a leak for 17 hours?

How is a juvenile ripped apart? How is a monkey whose head is stuck in the fence unnoticed?

This is not animal care, this is neglect and abuse. Though these violations may be back a couple of years, but there is no reason to assume that such a broad set of violations will be totally remedied. This is especially the case when the same lab has just had an escape of 43 monkeys because an enclosure was not properly closed. Sounds like nothing has changed.”

Budkie said his organization is seeking for Alpha Genesis to be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the Animal Welfare Act and for the USDA to launch an investigation into the lab.

This is the second federal complaint filed by SAEN against Alpha Genesis in recent weeks.

As of Monday, 37 of the 43 escaped monkeys had been recovered.

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