Police search continues after 43 monkeys escape from a research facility in South Carolina on Wednesday night.
Police in Yemassee, Beaufort County, said the rhesus macaque primates escaped from Alpha Genesis, a business that provides "non-human primate products and bioresearch services".
The monkeys are a group of "very young females" who have never been used for testing. A spokesman for Alpha Genesis confirmed to police that the animals were "too young for disease," police said in a statement.
Police said on Thursday afternoon that "Alpha Genesis is currently focusing on the primates and working to lure them in with food."
Traps have also been set and officers are using thermal imaging cameras in an attempt to recapture the animals, police said.
"Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes," the sheriff's office said in a statement. It said anyone who spots a monkey should not interact with it but should call 911.
The company works to conduct clinical trials with monkeys, including for the treatment of brain diseases, and says it has "one of the largest and most comprehensive non-human primate facilities specifically designed for monkeys in the Uni ted States."
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