Controversy
Protests
Yerkes has long been the object of agitation and protest for its treatment of animals. This was especially true after the release of Frederick Wiseman's 1974 film Primate, which was shot at Yerkes and which revealed the uncaring, routinized treatment of animals undergoing painful physical procedures and even vivisection.
Yerkes' proposal to do AIDS-related research on endangered Sooty Mangabey monkeys drew opposition from numerous primatologists, including Jane Goodall. In 2007 Yerkes was fined for unsanitary conditions and poor procedures leading to the death of a macaque monkey.
Beth Griffin Death
Yerkes Center Research Assistant, Elizabeth Griffin, became the first work-related death (December 10, 1997) in the center's history, due to Herpes B virus. Griffin apparently became infected after a fluid exposure to the eye which occurred while helping to move a caged rhesus macaque at the Yerkes Field Station, in Gwinnett County, Georgia. OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, ultimately fined the center $105,300 in 1998, after a 19-week investigation(OSHA). The event lead to reforms in safety protocols for handling research primates.
Ep13 Disappearance
On June 15, 2011, at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center Field Station, in Gwinnett County, Georgia personnel determined that Ep13, a non-infected female rhesus macaque was missing On August 16, 2011, the search for Ep13 ended.
Read more about this topic: Yerkes National Primate Research Center
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