Tonka the Chimpanzee Rescued

Tonka the chimpanzee is rescued following a years-long legal battle between PETA and Tonia Haddix, who took over ownership of the chimpanzees at the now-shuttered Missouri Primate Foundation in Festus, Missouri, after we sued over their living conditions. PETA was granted permission to rescue Tonka and six others, but when we came to carry out the court’s order, Tonka had vanished—and Haddix falsely claimed that he had died. In response, we launched a nationwide search for his whereabouts, which ended nearly a year later, when Tonka was found concealed in a tiny cage in the basement at Haddix’s new residence. Tonka is now living at the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Florida. As a result of PETA’s lawsuit, nine chimpanzees are moved from the Missouri Primate Foundation to sanctuaries accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries.