Three aggressive monkeys still on the loose after a truck hauling 21 of the animals from Tulane University in New Orleans flipped on a Mississippi interstate Tuesday. They are part of a controversial program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to the White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit focused on eliminating wasteful government spending on animal testing.
The Jasper County Sheriff's Office, which "eliminated" five of the escaped 40-pound monkeys, initially said the driver of the truck told authorities the primates were dangerous, a threat to humans and required personal protective equipment (PPE) to handle.
The university later confirmed to Fox News Digital the monkeys in question were not carrying any diseases and had received recent checkups at Tulane before they left the facility, confirming they were pathogen-free.
Tulane officials said 13 of the monkeys remained caged during the wreck, which happened north of Heidelberg, and are now in the possession of their owner en route to their intended destination.
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The identity of the owner and "original destination" were not released.
"The transport of research animals is a common occurrence and usually requires legally binding contracts that prevent the involved parties from disclosing information, both for the safety of the animals and to protect the parties' proprietary information," the university wrote in a statement.
White Coat Waste Project told Fox News Digital it has been working to cut taxpayer funding for Tulane’s primate lab for years, and right after the crash, followed the monkeys and the money allegedly straight to the NIH.
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"Every year, the NIH ships $35 million of our hard-earned tax dollars to Tulane so it can breed thousands of primates, torture them in wasteful and abusive experiments, and truck them off to other labs," White Coat Waste Project senior vice president Justin Goodman wrote in a statement. "Nearly 6,000 monkeys are locked up in Tulane’s taxpayer-funded facility where the primates are isolated in tiny cages and infected with some of the deadliest pathogens on earth—like anthrax, botulism, monkeypox, COVID, and AIDS-like viruses."
The organization alleges in a recent experiment at Tulane’s primate center, human nipples were sewn onto male monkeys.
"Despite promising White Coat Waste that he'd end all primate tests, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya just renewed millions in funding for Tulane's torture lab," Goodman wrote. "We’re urging [Health and Human Services] Secretary [Robert F.] Kennedy to follow the lead of the first Trump administration and shut down government primate labs and retire the survivors to sanctuary. The way to end Tulane’s monkey business is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness."
An HHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital the NIH is currently subject to a court injunction stemming from ongoing litigation related to the previously canceled Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) grants, which prevents the immediate termination of the Tulane grant.
The HHS clarified the grant has not been newly renewed; the spokesperson said what has been described as "renewals" are continuing disbursements under the original grant.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) senior science advisor for primate campaigns Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel called on authorities to demand full necropsies and veterinary records for the monkeys killed in the crash and to make the results public.
"Tulane has locked down information after the crash—refusing to say who owned the monkeys, what they were being used for, or what pathogens they carried. Inside sources have told us the monkeys were actually not headed to Florida," Jones-Engel wrote in a statement Thursday to Fox News Digital. "PETA has requested that local authorities be provided with necropsies and veterinary records, and we are also going to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)] because this is fundamentally a public health issue."
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She alleged Tulane National Primate Research Center’s colony harbors diseases including Chagas, Valley Fever, West Nile virus and diarrheal pathogens, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is aware imported monkeys have arrived in U.S. primate facilities carrying tuberculosis and Burkholderia pseudomallei.
"Tulane's claim that secrecy protects ‘animal safety’ is obscene," Jones-Engel wrote. "These animals were shot dead. Tulane’s primate center is funded by taxpayers, and transparency is a matter of public health, not proprietary privilege. Passing the buck to highway patrol or state wildlife officers is an outright dodge. Local responders are not equipped to assess zoonotic risks—that responsibility lies with Tulane and with the CDC. By hiding behind contracts and weak paperwork, Tulane is shielding its dangerous primate center and protecting the notorious monkey experimentation industry from scrutiny at the expense of community safety."
Though the university sent a team of animal care experts to assist, officials emphasized the monkeys were not being transported by Tulane, not owned by Tulane, and not in Tulane’s custody at the time of the crash.
PETA wrote a letter to the CDC Friday, requesting the CDC "acknowledge its responsibility, increase transparency, and protect communities from the dangers posed not only by the primate trade but also by the presence of entrenched pathogens in U.S. primate facilities."
The NIH and Kennedy's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
Deputies said they have been in contact with an animal disposal company to "help handle the situation."
Mississippi Highway Patrol and Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries are investigating, along with local law enforcement.
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