Criminal Charge Against Mark Bushmitz - Monkey Importer in Immokalee

Immokalee, Fla. — In a rare move, Florida state authorities have filed a criminal charge against Mark Bushmitz, the president of primate importation company BC US, after a just-imported live monkey in a wooden crate was tossed into a dumpster and not found for five days. PETA first released the allegations after a whistleblower provided credible evidence.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission charged Bushmitz with a second-degree misdemeanor for the escape of Class II wildlife in the January incident. The charge carries a penalty of 60 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $500. To PETA’s knowledge, this is the first time an importer in the animal experimentation industry has been charged for this offense.

PETA is now urging the commission to revoke BC US’s permit to possess animals for commercial use, pointing out that a newly imported monkey—who is required under federal law to be quarantined to prevent disease transmission to humans—was discarded, unaccounted for, and confined for days in a biohazard waste dumpster, endangering public health. Staff at BC US, which imports monkeys and sells them to laboratories, apparently didn’t count the 300 monkeys in the shipment and were unaware that the monkey was missing until they were notified by the waste management facility that handled the dumpster.

The monkey, who had just spent 28 hours in the cargo hold of a plane that originated Mauritius, was likely stressed, confused, and frightened even before he spent five days without food and water in a waste dumpster that ended up in Miami. He escaped when it was opened and was loose inside a facility owned by waste management company Stericycle. He was returned to BC US where he was killed.

In February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a critical citation to BC US for the monkey’s escape. BC US also received a critical citation in January when two monkeys at its Florida facility were found dead after staff left them in a room heated to 104 degrees overnight.

“BC US’s failure on every level is a disgrace that led to unimaginable terror and physical suffering for this monkey,” says PETA Chief Science Advisor on Primate Experimentation Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel. “PETA thanks Florida officials for taking the rare step of bringing criminal charges, but now urges the commission to protect the public and other monkeys by revoking the company’s license.”





The monkey, who was thrown into a dumpster like garbage, went unnoticed by staff for five days before escaping—only to be killed by BC US after he was recaptured. Image obtained through a state public records request by PETA