Immokalee biomedical facility president charged after monkey thrown in dumpster

IMMOKALEE, Fla. (WINK)—The president of a biomedical primate facility is facing criminal charges after authorities say a monkey was unknowingly thrown into a dumpster.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission confirms that Mark Bushmitz, the president of Bioculture Group known as BC-US, is charged with the escape of Class 2 wildlife, which is wildlife that poses a possible risk to human safety.

This now marks the third time in the last month the company has either been cited by federal investigators or charged with a crime.

According to an incident report from FWC, on Jan. 28, employees at BC-US were unloading around 300 live monkeys out of wooden crates when staff failed to realize one monkey was still inside a crate before the crate was thrown into a biomedical dumpster.

The incident report states the monkey wasn't discovered for five days. WINK Investigates has already shown how the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited the facility for this same incident earlier this month.

The USDA also cited the company for a critical violation of the Animal Welfare Act following the deaths of two monkeys exposed to extreme heat in January.

Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel with PETA says she's urging the FWC to revoke BC-US's permit to possess animals for commercial use. "This is not just about animal cruelty. This was also about public safety," Jones-Engel said. "This was a newly imported monkey.

When they hit the ground in the US, they were supposed to be immediately enter into a CDC-mandated quarantine because of the infectious disease risk. BC-US had no idea for five days that they were missing a monkey." BC-US did not respond to WINK News' requests for comment.