Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Rebuked Over Death of Lab Monkey

They forgot to take the monkey out of the cage. Bristol-Myers Squibb accidentally killed a crab-eating macaque this past summer when its cage was run through the wash cycle while the primate remained locked inside, according to an inspection report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A spokeswoman for Bristol-Myers confirmed the accident but did not know how it occurred or the monkey’s gender. The monkey died on July 1 at Bristol-Myers’ lab in Pennington, the inspection report said. The dirty cage was moved to the wash room for sanitizing and submerged in near-boiling water. When the cage was lifted from the wash, a Bristol-Myers employee discovered the dead monkey on the floor, the report said.