‘Monkey Whisperer’ Sentenced For Trafficking Protected Primates: DOJ

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — A Parrish man known as “The Monkey Whisperer” was sentenced to five years’ probation, including eight months home confinement, for trafficking protected primates and violating federal wildlife laws, according to a Department of Justice news release.

Jimmy Wayne Hammonds pleaded guilty March 2 to one count of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and three counts of violating the Endangered Species Act.

As part of his sentence, the 58-year-old must also pay a $90,000 fine to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Lacey Act Reward Fund.

Hammonds owned and operated The Monkey Whisperer, LLC, a business engaged in the breeding and selling of wildlife. From September 2017 until February 2018, he conspired to sell a capuchin monkey to a celebrity client in California for more than $12,000, even though the buyer couldn’t lawfully possess the monkey in that state, the DOJ said.

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He organized the transportation of the monkey from Florida to California through individuals who were not permitted to possess a capuchin monkey in either state, the agency said. Law enforcement later seized the monkey from the client’s California residence.

In a news release, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) identified the buyer as singer Chris Brown. The animal welfare organization said the investigation into Hammonds was prompted after it alerted California officials to Brown’s possession of the capuchin. PETA also sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging the agency to revoke Hammonds’ federal Animal Welfare Act license.

Hammons also illegally sold cotton-top tamarins, which are primates listed as an endangered species, to buyers in Alabama, South Carolina and Wisconsin, the DOJ said. To conceal his unlawful wildlife trafficking, he submitted false records to a law enforcement officer and attempted to persuade a witness to lie to a law enforcement officer by saying that they had purchased the cotton-top tamarins at a flea market.

He was previously convicted in Florida state court for similar conduct in 2012.

“In a number of states, it is illegal to buy, sell and own exotic pets,” Edward Grace, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assistant director of the office of law enforcement, said. “The illegal wildlife trade jeopardizes the future for many species.”

Michelle Sinnott, PETA’s director of captive animal law enforcement, said, "This brazen career criminal got off easy, but the conviction alone should be enough to keep him out of the monkey-exploitation business as long as federal officials do their jobs and revoke his federal Animal Welfare Act license. PETA is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to use this case as a jumping-off point to relentlessly pursue the other Hammondses of the world and hold them accountable for trafficking animals for a buck."