COLUMBIA (AP) -- An Ohio-based watchdog group has called on the federal government to investigate a South Carolina company it says is abusing research monkeys.
Stop Animal Exploitation Now executive director Michael Budkie said on Monday internal records from the Alpha Genesis Inc. lab near Charleston show the company is breaking federal law.
Budkie says documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show at least 170 primates are missing body parts, from fingers to limbs. Budkie says at least one primate was cut across the abdomen and its internal organs were spilling out.
Officials with Alpha Genesis did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
In 2008, federal investigators found no evidence of mistreatment at Alpha Genesis after a similar investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)