Manatee County’s ‘Monkey Whisperer’ Sentenced For Trafficking Primates: U.S. DOJ

PARRISH, FL — A man known as “The Monkey Whisperer” will spend time behind bars for trafficking primates while on probation for the same crime, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

Jimmy Wayne Hammonds, 62, of Parrish was sentenced to nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and Lacey Act trafficking.

Hammonds pleaded guilty to the charges on Oct. 23.

The court also ordered that he pay a $60,000 fine to benefit the Lacey Act Reward Fund and placed a ban on Hammonds from possessing, breeding, selling, transporting or exhibiting any wildlife, the department said.

Hammonds, despite being a convicted Lacey Act trafficker and on federal probation, ran a business called The Monkey Whisperer, LLC that specialized in selling primates and other exotic animals, according to court records.

Using social media accounts for his business, he connected with a prospective buyer who was an undercover agent, the DOJ said.

At Hammonds’s request, the conversations moved to an encrypted texting app to discuss potential wildlife sales.

He agreed to sell the undercover agent two common marmosets for $7,400. Hammonds arranged for the transaction to occur in Georgia to avoid law enforcement oversight.

After his arrest, Hammonds surrendered his ownership of 67 animals, including numerous primate species, muntjac deer, lemurs, kangaroos, wallabies and otters.

His violation of probation hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

See Also:

• 'The Monkey Whisperer' Sold Protected Monkey To Celebrity
• ‘Monkey Whisperer’ Sentenced For Trafficking Protected Primates: DOJ
• FL’s ‘Monkey Whisperer’ Faces New Animal Trafficking Charges: US DOJ