In Mississippi, a transport truck carrying several rhesus monkeys overturned on Interstate 59 near Heidelberg, resulting in the animals escaping their cages and roaming roadside near the crash site. The local Jasper County Sheriff’s Department quickly issued a warning that the monkeys were “aggressive to humans” and allegedly carried diseases such as hepatitis C, herpes and COVID-19 — claims later disputed by Tulane University, which said the animals in question were not infectious and did not belong to the university.
Authorities responded by capturing or killing all but one of the escaped animals, the sheriff’s department reporting that the remaining monkey was still at large and advising the public not to approach it. Meanwhile, Tulane University stated it was collaborating with law enforcement and would dispatch animal-care experts to assist in the situation.
The incident raised questions about the accuracy of the initial threat assessment and how quickly law enforcement responded under the assumption the monkeys were dangerous and diseased. The conflicting messages — between the sheriff’s department’s dire warnings and Tulane’s clarification of the animals’ status — may influence scrutiny of future protocols for transporting research animals and communicating public safety alerts.
