Selling monkeys

I want to enter the field of dealing in pet animals like cats and birds. Among the animals I want to deal in are chimpanzees which can be domesticated and trained for entertainment purposes, such as attracting customers to one’s store, or they may be sold to households simply for purposes of amusement. But they are very expensive. Some brothers – may Allaah reward them – have told me that dealing in monkeys is haraam, because they are a sign of Divine punishment and wrath, and because this involves changing their nature and mistreating them, in addition to the fact that they are a waste of money. What is the ruling on that?

Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah:

It is not permissible to sell cats, monkeys and dogs, and other carnivores that have fangs, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade that and denounced it, and because it involves a waste of money, which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also forbade.