Judge Orders Arrest of ‘Chimp Crazy’ Villains After Failure to Turn Over Financial Records to PETA

For Immediate Release:
July 15, 2025

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

A Missouri state court judge has just ordered the arrest of notorious wild animal broker Tonia Haddix and her husband Jerry Aswegan, finding four companies affiliated with them in contempt of court for ignoring orders to hand over financial records and other related documents to PETA.

In 2023, PETA served Aswegan with a subpoena for the documents as part of its efforts to collect the $225,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs Haddix had been ordered to pay after she lied to the court—as detailed in HBO’s Emmy-nominated Chimp Crazy docuseries—by claiming that Tonka the chimpanzee was dead in an attempt to keep him hidden in a tiny cage in her basement. Aswegan ignored PETA’s subpoena, forcing PETA to file a motion in November asking a federal judge to order him to respond and find him in contempt. The federal judge granted the motion and later gave Aswegan a deadline to defend himself against the civil contempt accusation, which he missed. PETA then subpoenaed the companies directly through the state court.

In addition to ordering the pair’s arrest, the state court judge ordered each of their companies to pay a daily $100 fine and awarded PETA its attorneys’ fees (an amount not yet determined).

“Jerry Aswegan stood by as Tonia Haddix brazenly lied to officials that Tonka the chimpanzee was dead, all so she could keep him prisoner in her basement,” says PETA Foundation General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. “Aswegan and Haddix are now heading to jail, and PETA will not back down until they have paid every penny they owe, and their days of exploiting animals are over.”

Following years of PETA pressure, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has terminated Tonia Haddix’s federal license, banning her from legally selling USDA-regulated animals, including primates, and from operating her roadside zoo in Sunrise Beach, Missouri. The USDA’s order is currently on appeal.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.