A Florida man who called himself “The Monkey Whisperer” has been sent to prison after continuing to traffic exotic animals even while on probation for the same crime, US prosecutors have said.
62-year-old Jimmy Wayne Hammonds from Parrish was sentenced to nine months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. He had pleaded guilty on October 23, 2025, to conspiring to violate the Lacey Act, a federal law that bans illegal wildlife trade.
