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A baboon scheduled to have a vasectomy has made a daring escape with his two lady friends near a hospital in Sydney.

Footage captured by stunned pedestrians shows the trio of primates running loose in a car park at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital today just before 5:30pm local time.

The baboons have run off the medical research facility towards a parked ambulance.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the male baboon was due to have a vasectomy at the hospital and he was being accompanied by his two wives to "keep him comfortable", the Daily Telegraph reported.

(Image: 7news)

Mr Hazzard said: "Tomorrow (Wednesday) after the operation he and the two wives will return to the colony where he can stay forever with them but he will no longer be having babies."

One woman said her daughter, who works at the hospital, had watched the incident unfold.

“My daughter is an occupational therapist at RPA and she said ‘yes mum I just helped wrangle them’,” she told 2GB.

Local police and wildlife handlers from Taronga Zoo were dispatched to the scene to capture the primates.

New South Wales Police confirmed that the situation has been under control and that they have contained the baboons just before 7pm.

A spokeswoman for NSW Police said: "They have been contained. Police are working with experts to safely return them to their facility.

"There is no immediate danger to the public but people are advised to avoid the area."

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In 2016, a hospital spokesperson said the baboon were used to help medical researchers conduct tests that contributed significantly to the treatments of new disorders.

Animals are bred specifically for animal research at the National Health and Medical Research Council baboon colony in Wallacia, in Sydney’s west, according to news.com.au.