"The recent escape of several research monkeys after the truck carrying them overturned on a Mississippi interstate is the latest glimpse into the secretive industry of animal research and the processes that allow key details of what happened to be kept from the public. Three monkeys have remained on the loose since the crash on Tuesday in a rural area along Interstate 59, spilling wooden crates labeled "live monkeys" into the tall grass near the highway."
"Mississippi authorities have not disclosed the company involved in transporting the monkeys, where the monkeys were headed or who owns them. While Tulane University in New Orleans has acknowledged that the monkeys had been housed at its National Biomedical Research Center in Covington, Louisiana, it said it doesn't own them and won't identify who does. An initial report from the sheriff described the monkeys as "aggressive" and carrying diseases such as herpes, adding to the confusion."
""When a truck carrying 21 monkeys crashes on a public highway, the community has a right to know who owned those animals, where they were being sent, and what diseases they may have been exposed to and harbored simply by being caught up in the primate experimentation industry," said Lisa Jones-Engel, senior science adviser on primate experimentation with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals."
A transport truck carrying 21 Rhesus macaques overturned on Interstate 59 in Mississippi, scattering wooden crates labeled "live monkeys" into nearby grass. Three monkeys remain unaccounted for and search teams have been combing fields and woods in protective gear. Five of the macaques died during the response, and officials have not explained how those deaths occurred. Authorities have not revealed the transporter, the monkeys' owner, or the intended destination. Tulane acknowledged housing the animals at a research center but said it does not own them and declined to identify the owner. Conflicting reports emerged about pathogen status and the type of research involved.
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