LAHORE – Officials in the Punjab capital are warning people to be on the lookout for an injured monkey who escaped the UVAS campus on Wednesday.
Reports in local media cited that authorities failed to capture the monkey who was brought for the trial of the Covid vaccine at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Lahore.
Chief of Institute of Microbiology UVAS Dr. Tahir Yaqoob said a total of five monkeys were brought from the Bahawalpur zoo for a Covid vaccine trial and one of the monkeys escaped while being transported inside the varsity.
Yaqoob, while expressing hope to capture the escaped ape, said ‘the monkey is not harmful but we are trying to catch him via intoxication.
Locals while speaking with a news outlet said the escaped animal was spotted near the Sports Complex in Sant Nagar area on which Rescue 1122 rushed to the spot but he managed to flee.
Later, the monkey was seen near Baba Ground, Krishan Nagar area, jumping rooftops of houses. A local, resident said the entire episode is a matter of disquiet among locals as they feared the monkey could cause harm to someone.
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Meanwhile, another resident told a local media that the monkey got a head injury and he needed treatment.
The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences has been working on the Covid-19 vaccine development. After getting results in phase 1 on rabbits, the university has been conducting experiments on monkeys.
Punjab Wildlife Department had provided the monkeys to the University for Experimentation. Reportedly, provincial authorities have also agreed to allocate a fund of Rs 100 million to the UVAS for the preparation of the Covid vaccine.
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