January 11, 2023
Chris Brown’s Monkey Dealer Has License Revoked, Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Primates
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) appears to be cracking down on Chris Brown’s animal dealer Jimmy Wayne Hammonds.
The government recently revoked Hammonds’ Animal Welfare Act license for an entire year. This decision, announced January 6, follows PETA’s complaint filed against Hammonds, also known as “The Monkey Whisperer,” to the USDA. Last month, the nonprofit organization brought up a list of Hammonds’ crimes, including his March 2022 conviction for violating the Endangered Species Act and Lacy Act, in court documents.
The Endangered Species Act combats threatening the safety of animals and their environment, while the Lacy Act prohibits individuals from selling and transporting them illegally. One of the listed facts in the complaint reads, “Permitting the respondent to continue to hold an AWA license would be contrary to the Act’s purpose of ensuring humane treatment of animals because the respondent has been found to have violated the Lacy Act and ESA, and state or local laws or regulations all pertaining to the transportation, ownership, or welfare of animals.”
The document also stated PETA’s administrator called for Hammond’s license to be “terminated” because he was abusing his power. “Respondent’s actions constitute an abuse of the licensure privileges of the AWA. As a result, the Administrator has determined that the renewal or continuation of the respondent’s license would be contrary to the purposes of the Act and that said license should be terminated.”
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According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Hammonds pleaded guilty after selling a capuchin monkey to Brown for over $12,000, despite the primate being critically endangered and illegal to own in California. Hammonds could face up to eight years in prison.
In an Instagram post, Brown first showed the capuchin monkey (named Fiji) he purchased for his daughter Royalty Brown in 2017. At the time, the “Loyal” singer almost found himself in trouble with the law after it was revealed that Brown didn’t have the proper permits to own the monkey. After the discovery, law enforcement took Fiji out of Brown’s California home.