Beyond ‘Chimp Crazy’: The PETA Foundation’s Precedent-Setting Legal Battles
In four nail-biting episodes, HBO’s Chimp Crazy zeroes in on the PETA Foundation’s high-stakes legal battle with notorious animal broker Tonia Haddix—the self-proclaimed “Dolly Parton of chimps.” Six chimpanzees were rescued from the now-defunct Missouri Primate Foundation, we launched a nationwide search for Tonka—who was found and recovered from Haddix’s basement—and now, we’re aiming to collect the nearly $225,000 Haddix owes us in attorneys’ fees and costs.
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That’s what happens when seedy exhibitors, cruel experimenters, and deceptive companies try to go to bat with PETA and the PETA Foundation’s lawyers. If they don’t lose in a court of law, they eventually lose in the court of public opinion.
From dethroning major Tiger King villains to spotlighting SeaWorld’s cruelty, the PETA Foundation’s crack legal team has paved the way for dozens of historic victories for animals.
Here are some of the PETA Foundation’s sensational and unforgettable legal showdowns beyond Chimp Crazy:
PETA Decimates the Cruel Big-Cat Cub-Petting Industry
Remember “Joe Exotic,” “Doc” Antle, Jeff Lowe, and Tim Stark? These infamous Tiger King villains are either behind bars, out of business, facing federal charges, and/or in mountains of debt after losing to PETA. The work of PETA Foundation lawyers contributed to the closure of Lowe’s and Stark’s facilities by government prosecutors; the rescue of more than two dozen big cats from Stark and the transfer of all his other captive animals; and the seizure of 69 big cats from Lowe’s now-defunct facility.
We also saved 39 tigers, three bears, two baboons, and two chimpanzees from Joseph Maldonado, aka “Joe Exotic,” before he was arrested and imprisoned on murder-for-hire and wildlife-trafficking crimes.
By the time the Big Cat Public Safety Act was passed in December 2022, the big-cat cub-petting industry was already crumbling, thanks to PETA. With proper enforcement, this law—which prohibits private ownership of big cats and bans public contact with them—will serve as the final nail in the industry’s coffin.
PETA Strikes Down ‘Ag-Gag’ Laws
The meat, egg, dairy, and fishing industries all have a common enemy: the truth. That’s why they relentlessly lobby for “ag-gag” laws, which are designed to silence anyone investigating and exposing the horrors that occur on farms and in slaughterhouses.
When the meat industry introduced laws to try to make it imprisonable and suable to document flagrant cruelty on farms and in slaughterhouses, PETA’s legal maneuvering stopped these “ag-gag” bills cold in 19 states, and versions of these laws were declared unconstitutional in five other states—including Idaho, Iowa, North Carolina, Utah, and Wyoming.
PETA Takes Down Secretive Experimenters
Laboratories that use and kill animals in painful, useless experiments often do so on the taxpayers’ dime—which is why they go to great lengths to conceal their operations from the public.
When the National Institutes of Health (NIH) quietly attempted to censor criticism of its horrific tests on animals, PETA and others slapped the agency with a lawsuit—and we won. A court ruled that NIH’s blocking of keywords—including “monkey(s),” “cats,” “mouse,” “experiment,” “testing,” “PETA,” “torture,” and “revolting”—on its social media pages violated the First Amendment.
And when a major international research conglomerate sued to prevent PETA from showing footage of laboratory workers violently thrusting petrified monkeys into containers and shoving plastic tubes up their noses, we gained the right to secretly film and publicize our video.
PETA Invokes the Anti-Slavery Amendment Against SeaWorld
PETA’s famous Tilikum v. SeaWorld case was the first-ever filing seeking to apply the 13th Amendment to animals other than humans. Our lawsuit urged a federal court to declare that five wild-caught orcas forced to perform at SeaWorld were being held as slaves.
The court ruled against the orcas, but the lawsuit sparked a wave of awareness for orcas and other animals suffering at the abusement park. The release of Blackfish two years later—combined with PETA’s ongoing campaign against the company—further tanked SeaWorld’s reputation. Most travel companies have cut ties with SeaWorld, and hundreds of thousands of families now steer clear of the parks.
PETA Foundation Lawyers Put a Target on the Back of Humane-Washing Egg Sellers
Humane washing is what happens when companies that exploit and kill animals for their flesh, eggs, or secretions want to market their products to conscious consumers. Using labels like “free-range,” “pasture raised,” “humane,” and “ethical,” these companies mislead well-meaning buyers into thinking that animal-derived products can ever be “humane.”
For example, PETA eyewitness video footage of a Nellie’s Free Range Eggs supplier showed approximately 20,000 hens confined to a single extremely crowded shed with severely restricted access to the outdoors, which they could reach only by fighting their way to hatchways that were only occasionally open.
PETA Foundation lawyers filed a lawsuit against Nellie’s and subsequently helped file a class action lawsuit against another humane-washing egg brand as well as a global milk seller. In three historic decisions, federal courts held that these lawsuits raised valid legal arguments. These wins set a precedent for future action against other deceptive companies.
PETA’s Unprecedented Lawsuit Saved a Chimpanzee Held in Solitary Confinement
Following a lawsuit from PETA and a concerned member of the public, Joe the chimpanzee—who was suffering in solitary confinement at an Alabama roadside zoo—was rescued and transferred to a true sanctuary. Joe, who is also Chimp Crazy star Tonka’s brother, was the first chimpanzee to be rescued as a result of an Endangered Species Act (ESA) lawsuit. He even met chimpanzee expert Dr. Jane Goodall during his rescue! Now he’s enjoying life at an accredited sanctuary, where he has ample space, expert care, the opportunity to socialize with other chimpanzees, and freedom from exploitation.
Stream Chimp Crazy to Follow Our Pivotal Case Against a Notorious Primate Broker
How does the PETA Foundation’s legal team do it? See for yourself by streaming Chimp Crazy on Max! Then take action to support a critical bill that would protect chimpanzees and other primates.
