LAFAYETTE, La. (The Advertiser)- PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo is calling for the shutdown of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s New Iberia Research Center in the wake of an incident in which a rhesus macaque escaped from the facility. 

Guillermo issued a statement late Monday after learning about the escaped monkey. In it, PETA accuses the university of carelessness and jeopardizing public safety and the safety of students at a nearby school, The Advertiser reported.

“Laboratory officials claimed that the escaped monkey wasn’t infected with any pathogens, but they failed to mention that herpes B is endemic in macaque monkeys, who are asymptomatic carriers — and in humans, the disease is 100 percent fatal,” Guillermo said. “The laboratory has proved that it’s ill equipped to do the bare minimum required by federal law and should be fined, and the public should demand that it be shut down permanently.”

On Saturday, the small monkey was able to get out of its enclosure thanks to a problem with the apparatus.

The monkey was found late Monday on a roadway in New Iberia. 

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