Woman from Missouri received 4 years for abusing a chimpanzee

• Tonya Haddix received 46 months for abusing a chimpanzee.
• PETA removed Tonka from her custody in 2022.
• The advocate pleaded for leniency, citing severe childhood trauma.

Tonya Haddix, a 56-year-old woman from Missouri, who was featured in the HBO documentary series "Chimp Crazy," was sentenced to nearly four years in connection with the abuse of a chimpanzee, which she admitted was a chimpanzee she had formerly owned, Tonka. She also received three years of supervised release after completing her prison term.

Haddix managed a primate facility in the vicinity of St. Louis, Festus. In the facility, she identified herself as a winner by two points of the press and one point of the judicial review. The case began nearly ten years ago when the organization "People for Ethical Treatment of Animals" filed a lawsuit, asserting that she had kept several chimpanzees in "overcrowded, practically barren enclosures" at the Missouri Primate Foundation, which is now closed.

Among the chimpanzees was Tonka, who appeared in the films 1997 "Buddy" and "George of the Jungle." Actor Alan Cumming, who starred in "Buddy" alongside Tonka, also expressed interest in transferring the primate to another place.

In 2020, Haddix signed an agreement for the transfer of four chimpanzees to a sanctuary in Florida, but after the court found that she was not fulfilling the agreement, the authorities in 2021 excluded the chimpanzees, except for Tonka. Haddix claimed that Tonka was the exception, and that she had saved his remains.

However, Tonka was alive. In 2022, PETA removed him from captivity in her facility in Sunrise Beach, Missouri. Haddix later stated that she had abused Tonka to protect him from "PETA's evil claws."

Recently, officials discovered another chimpanzee, locked in her facility, which violated court orders, and Haddix was arrested. Prosecutors noted that she had not shown any remorse and continued to issue calls for a court hearing.

Advocate Haddix pleaded for leniency, stating that she had suffered abuse in childhood and experienced several severe traumas. The PETA organization praised the verdict, stating that Haddix can no longer exploit other chimpanzees.

Tags: USA/Crime