Who Are Tonia Haddix and Tonka the Chimpanzee?

Chimp Crazy—the 2024 HBO docuseries from Tiger King director Eric Goode—has kicked off a wave of support for legislation that would help prevent humans from exploiting vulnerable primates in the pet trade. The series, in part, tells the story of Tonka, a chimpanzee formerly used in Hollywood films who, in 2021, famously vanished from the decrepit Missouri Primate Foundation amid a legal battle between PETA and Tonia Haddix.

Who Is Tonia Haddix?

The self-described “Dolly Parton” of chimpanzees, Haddix is a notorious animal broker previously affiliated with the now-defunct Missouri Primate Foundation. Featured heavily in Chimp Crazy, Haddix admits to taking ownership of seven chimpanzees who lived at the Festus, Missouri, compound despite having no formal training on working with animals.

In Chimp Crazy, Haddix can be seen feeding chimpanzees unhealthy McDonald’s Happy Meals and giving them sugary Powerade beverages to drink.

PETA obtained public records showing that between 2019 and 2024, Haddix sent at least 20 monkeys who were under 4 months old to 10 different states.

Ten of these animals were less than a month old when they were sold.

The buyers were primarily private owners who wanted to keep the young monkeys as “pets,” but Haddix also sent infant monkeys to a breeder in Tennessee and a notorious roadside zoo in North Carolina.

Since 2018, she has sent seven adult primates to private owners in Florida, Missouri, and Texas and a roadside zoo in West Virginia.

PETA used Tonia Haddix’s statements and actions documented in Chimp Crazy as evidence that she’s in violation of court orders. We’re petitioning for her to be held in contempt of court.

On October 30, PETA filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The motion also seeks to hold accountable Haddix’s accomplices—including her husband, Jerry Aswegan, and Cy Vierstra, who warehoused Tonka at his roadside zoo for months to help Haddix prevent his transfer to an accredited sanctuary.

The series documented that, in apparent violation of various court orders, Haddix did the following:

• Leaked confidential details regarding the transfers of chimpanzees from the now-defunct Missouri Primate Foundation breeding compound
• Recorded the transfers and a court hearing
• Apparently entered a chimpanzee enclosure

Haddix brazenly defied court orders on camera and made a mockery of the justice system in front of an international audience in order to deprive a chimpanzee of a real life. PETA is asking the court to hold her and her accomplices in this scheme accountable for flagrantly flouting the law.

This filing marks PETA’s sixth motion of contempt against Haddix. A previous motion was held in abeyance pending a criminal investigation into Haddix by the U.S. attorney.

In 2023, she was ordered to pay $224,404.24 in attorneys’ fees and costs to PETA as a sanction for the court’s previous findings of contempt in response to our prior motions.

Tonia Haddix Quotes From Chimp Crazy

The first episode of Chimp Crazy opens with Haddix saying, “Monkey love is totally different than the way that you have love for your child. If it’s your natural-born child, it’s just natural because you actually—you know—gave birth to that kid. But when you adopt a monkey, the bond is much, much deeper.”

She goes on to say of chimpanzees, “Their mother is their whole life.”

Her cognitive dissonance is astounding. While Haddix acknowledges the importance of the mother-child bond, her shady wild-animal business involves tearing young primates from their actual mothers’ sides and then selling them to private owners to be kept as “pets” or to roadside zoos to be exploited for profit.

Who Is Tonka the Chimpanzee?

Tonka was one of several chimpanzees owned by Tonia Haddix. A court ordered Tonka’s transfer to an accredited sanctuary, but Haddix instead falsely reported him as dead and hauled him to a shady roadside zoo in Ohio before confining him to a tiny cage in her basement in Missouri for months.

In her basement, she deprived Tonka of any contact with other chimpanzees, space to exercise, and even the opportunity to feel the warmth of the sun.

Tonka’s disappearance sparked a nationwide search led by PETA that included help from actor Alan Cumming, who starred with the chimpanzee in the 1997 film Buddy.

The search resulted in Tonka’s eventual discovery in a cramped cell in Haddix’s Missouri basement and his subsequent rescue and transfer to an accredited sanctuary.

How Is Tonka the Chimpanzee Doing Now?

These days, Tonka lives at the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Florida.

There, Tonka is a high-ranking and respected member of his chimpanzee family, which includes his biological son, Cayleb.

When Tonka isn’t exploring his island home or basking in the sun, he relaxes and plays with his new friends or greets his care staff by sticking out his tongue. His bold nature and diplomatic tendencies have made him beloved by all, chimpanzees and humans alike.

Chimp Crazy proves that treating highly intelligent and sensitive apes and monkeys like movie props or “pets” is cruel and extremely dangerous.

Help Other Chimpanzees Like Tonka

If you were moved by Tonka’s story in Chimp Crazy, contact your federal legislators and urge them to cosponsor the bipartisan Captive Primate Safety Act, which would ban the private ownership, private breeding, and private commercial trade of monkeys and apes.

The public outcry sparked by Tiger King pushed Congress to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act in 2022, which banned the private ownership of big cats, including lions and tigers.

The Captive Primate Safety Act was introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Reps. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. The legislation is cosponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla of California and Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Joe Neguse of Colorado.

The first episode of Chimp Crazy dropped on August 18 on Max (HBO’s streaming service)—you’ll be floored by what you see.

Note: PETA supports animal rights and opposes all forms of animal exploitation and educates the public on those issues. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.