PETA Statement re Chimp Crazy Tonia Haddix Pleads Guilty to Lying to Feds
For Immediate Release:
March 31, 2025
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Today, Chimp Crazy villain Tonia Haddix pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury and one count of obstructing justice for lying to a federal judge about the whereabouts of Tonka the chimpanzee and disobeying a court order to surrender him to PETA, as revealed on the docuseries. Following the show’s release, PETA submitted a motion to the court detailing the numerous additional pieces of evidence of perjury and violations of court orders shown in the series.
Below, please find a statement from PETA President Ingrid Newkirk:
When PETA and U.S. Marshals found where Haddix had hidden Tonka, he was alone, locked in a tiny cage in Haddix’s dark basement, isolated, and denied everything necessary for a healthy, happy life. U.S. Marshals and PETA freed him and now Tonka spends his days at a beautiful sanctuary roaming a three-acre island, climbing, basking in the Florida sun, and, most importantly, spending time with other chimpanzees—and Haddix must now face consequences for her selfish, cruel actions.
Scheduled for this summer, PETA hopes that Haddix’s sentence will include jail time so she can get a taste of the suffering she condemned Tonka and other animals to. The U.S. Department of Agriculture terminated Haddix’s federal license this month, banning her from legally selling USDA-regulated animals, including primates, and from operating her roadside zoo in Sunrise Beach, Missouri. The termination is scheduled to take effect April 22 if she doesn’t appeal the USDA’s order.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in anyway”—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.
