A Missouri woman has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for making repeated false statements to a U.S. District Court regarding the whereabouts and status of Tonka, a chimpanzee known for roles in films such as “Buddy” and “George of the Jungle.” Tonia Haddix, 55, pleaded guilty on March 31 to two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice after admitting she lied under oath and in court filings during a long-running civil case about the care of Tonka and other chimpanzees.
The civil suit was initiated in 2016 by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) over conditions at Haddix’s facility near Festus, Missouri. Over several years, the court issued multiple orders requiring improvements to the housing and care provided to the animals. When Haddix failed to comply, an order was issued on July 14, 2021 mandating that Tonka and six other chimpanzees be transferred to the Center for Great Apes. Six were removed with assistance from Deputy U.S. Marshals on July 28, but Haddix had already moved Tonka secretly to Ohio.
In subsequent months, Haddix filed documents under penalty of perjury claiming that Tonka had died on May 30, 2021 and had been cremated. She repeated these claims in sworn testimony before the court on January 5, 2022: “…I wanted to keep trying to save Tonka if I could,” she wrote. “But then he just died on his own, so there was no saving him.” Based partly on this testimony, PETA’s motion for civil contempt was denied.
However, new evidence presented in June 2022 revealed that Tonka was alive. The court ordered Haddix to cooperate with transferring him; soon after, Deputy U.S. Marshals rescued Tonka from a cage in her basement and sent him to Save the Chimps sanctuary where he remains.
Haddix later appeared in a documentary titled “Chimp Crazy,” which showed her hiding Tonka while publicly maintaining he was dead. Following her guilty plea this year, authorities discovered another chimpanzee concealed at her home during an inspection by United States Pretrial Services officers; this animal was also rescued following a court-ordered search.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith’s sentencing memorandum: In media interviews and public appearances during litigation, Haddix “repeatedly and publicly disclosed her animosity towards the Court and opposing party PETA… expressly stating her intent not to comply with the Court’s orders.” The memo notes she even claimed attempts against PETA’s lawyer.
A separate government memo described how Haddix “reveled in her ability to obstruct justice… seeking credit and adulation from future viewers for conduct which was portrayed then as akin to a type of David and Goliath situation…” The memo added that unlike David from biblical accounts who only harmed Goliath without seeking fame or keeping animals confined improperly—Haddix profited through documentaries, podcasts, merchandise sales related to her actions.
“Tonia Haddix’s lies about the death of Tonka were only part of a series of falsehoods that she told the District Court about her plans to properly care for the chimps in her custody,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus. “She continued to lie, even as she pleaded guilty in March, as she was secretly keeping a new chimp in a cage in the basement of her home where she once confined Tonka. Justice is impossible if participants in the judicial system lie. This case should send a message that those lies will not be tolerated, nor will violations of plea agreements and pretrial release conditions.”
“This case is not about Tonia Haddix’s exotic animal business,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Her sentence today reflects her blatant disregard of our judicial process by telling wild lies under oath in front of a federal judge.”
The FBI investigated this case; prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith.
