For Immediate Release:
January 4, 2023
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
Yemassee, S.C. – Please see the following statement from PETA Vice President Dr. Alka Chandna regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recently posted official warning issued to monkey dealer Alpha Genesis Inc. (AGI) for three serious violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, after four monkeys died and four others were seriously injured because of the company’s negligence. An infant monkey at AGI died after becoming entangled in gauze material used to attach a water bottle to a cage. Two monkeys died after their fingers became trapped in structures in their enclosures—but no one noticed. A female monkey sustained grave injuries from incompatible cagemates and was found dead after staff negligently moved her to the wrong enclosure. Four other monkeys required veterinary care after they were placed in incorrect enclosures. AGI holds $17 million in contracts with the National Institutes of Health to supply the agency with monkeys for experimentation.
The four monkeys who died and the four who were seriously injured are Alpha Genesis Inc.’s latest victims in a long history of incompetence. Monkeys have strangled and frozen to death, died of dehydration, and been killed by other stressed animals. Dozens of monkeys have escaped and never been found. The pain and trauma endured by the monkeys at this facility don’t seem to bother the National Institutes of Health—the agency is one of its biggest clients. Alpha Genesis should lose its license to sell monkeys, and the feds need to shut down this dirty company and the entire nefarious business of importing, breeding, warehousing, and selling monkeys.
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