Florida ‘Monkey Whisperer’ guilty of illegal wildlife trade

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who went by the nickname “the Monkey Whisperer” has pleaded guilty to illegally transporting and selling primates, including a species considered endangered. Court records show that 57-year-old Jimmy Wayne Hammonds pleaded guilty Wednesday in Tampa federal court to violating the Endangered Species Act and Lacy Act. He faces up to eight years in prison. A sentencing date wasn’t immediately set. Prosecutors say Hammonds operated a wildlife breeding business through which he tried to sell a capuchin monkey to a buyer in California and also sold endangered cotton-top tamarins to buyers in Alabama, South Carolina and Wisconsin.