Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019 | 7 p.m.
Clark County commissioners approved an exotic animal permit today for hip-hop producer Jamal Rashid despite staff’s recommendation to deny because he let the licenses expire.
Rashid, also known as Mally Mall, must provide 24-hour supervision for his three capuchin monkeys, African caracal cat, albino python, spider monkey and serval cat at his residence in the Paradise township of southeast Las Vegas.
Commissioners also stipulated that Rashid keep his animals inside a building and notify the police if any animal escapes. It’s the same home where an exotic cat died in a 2016 fire.
The Paradise Town Advisory board recommended approval of Rashid’s permit, which was a departure from a 2011 decision to reject his exotic animal request following an escape of one of his servals.
Commissioner Jim Gibson, who represents Paradise, was initially hesitant to approve Rashid’s request, given his failure to renew his permit.
“Although they have been permitted in the past, they failed to do what we expect of them … they failed to come back in and do the simplest of things when they let things lapse,” Gibson said.
Gibson said his approval is contingent on Rashid being able to obtain an exotic animal permit from Clark County Animal Control within 60 days of approval of the application. He also warned it’s his last chance to be compliant with county code.
“This is not something we take lightly,” he said. “That’s why there is special permission required in order to have these animals in a residence.”
Clark County isn’t the lone jurisdiction where Rashid has exotic pets.
California authorities last April seized a serval cat from Rashid’s home in San Fernando Valley as part of an exotic animal trafficking investigation, the Los Angeles Times reported. Rashid’s attorney, Steve Sadow, told the Times that Rashid has papers from Nevada for his cat and should be able to have the animal returned.
Dowon Kang, another attorney representing Rashid, told Clark County commissioners that he has been a friend of Rashid for years and is confident in his ability to care for the animals on his property. Rashid didn’t attend the commissioner meeting.
“I’ve been to his home and played with his animals,” he said.
Rashid has worked with and produced music for artists like Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg and Justin Bieber. His Instagram page also has photographs of many of his exotic animals like monkeys and caracal cats.
