People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on Thursday released the following statement regarding the monkeys at Alpha Genesis, a research facility in Yemassee, South Carolina:
"Alpha Genesis must work with the National Institutes of Health right now to release all monkeys it has captured to sanctuaries. Monkeys should never be confined to laboratories but even NIH should agree that these macaques have been in an uncontrolled environment for days, exposed to pathogens carried by human, domestic, and wild animals, and as they ranged throughout Yemassee searching for food and shelter, they have even been foraging around restaurants. These wild monkeys are not suitable for studies, according to the experimentation industry’s own standards. PETA has an offer on the table, we have funding for sanctuary placement. We demand that NIH officials respond to the thousands of people who have called and emailed them with one message: Let the monkeys live!"
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