You may have seen that Tonia Haddix, the main subject of the documentary Chimp Crazy, was in the news again recently.
Even if you didn’t watch the HBO series, you may have heard about Tonia testifying under oath that Tonka, a chimpanzee in her care, had died and she had helped cremate his body. In dramatic fashion, the filmmakers of Chimp Crazy reveal that Tonka was actually being held in the basement of Tonia’s home.
Thankfully, Tonka is now living in a social group at Save the Chimps sanctuary in Florida, where many of the children and siblings of the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest also live.
According to records from PETA, there’s a good chance that newly rescued George is Tonka’s half-brother!
But that’s not why I’m writing this.
Incredibly, the reason that Tonia is in the news again is because she was found to be hiding another missing chimpanzee in her home. I really wish all of this was a made up story. But it’s not.
Tonia Haddix is clearly a very disturbed individual. And yet, she was able to be responsible for the lives of multiple chimpanzees and held a license for years to display, buy, sell, and transport primates and other animals, even after the Chimp Crazy documentary aired. Many of the primates she was “brokering”, as seen in the documentary and more recently on Tonia’s social media profiles (which I don’t suggest you visit because it will only increase their reach and her celebrity), are very young infants. Removing infant primates from their mothers to sell to private owners is something that is still legal to do.
I’m glad that there are now serious charges against her, but her story and profession points to a lack of oversight, a need for better laws and better and quicker enforcement of existing (rather weak) animal welfare regulations.
Which brings me to why I am writing this.
We are re-launching our advocacy program, Primate Patrol, and we want you to be a part of it.
Please check out this short survey to let me know if you are interested in being a part of Primate Patrol and advocating for primates.
And if you want to deep-dive into Chimp Crazy, Andy Gray of the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance and I co-hosted discussions via zoom after each episode of Chimp Crazy aired. The four videos are still available to view on our YouTube channel.
I totally missed the news regarding Tonia hiding yet another chimpanzee in her home. Very disturbing to learn this. I am signed up and very excited to see you reactivating your primate advocacy program. I’ve missed it. (Eyes On Apes makes me think of past caregiver Debbie) 🙂
Thank you for your transparency and keeping us informed. This is distubing and there definitely needs to be laws protecting these wonderful beings.
This is exactly why there needs to be legislation outlawing the sale, purchase, and private ownership of ALL primates. It’s absolutely insane to me that she was allowed to operate even after years of horrible conditions and everything that happened with Tonka.
Do we know anything about this most recent chimpanzee? Where she is, how she’s doing?
It really is insane. I haven’t seen anything public about the female chimpanzee she was keeping, but I believe she is in a good, safe place now.
What a beautiful, peaceful photo of George. Primates must be protected from all harm and it takes more than a few voices to see that it happens. Sign me up!
I don’t know where these infant chimpanzees come from in the US. Are they coming from Africa? Most countries in Africa now have laws but enforcement isn’t easy or cheap.
I recently watched a video series called the rescued chimpanzees of the Congo with Jane Goodall. It’s a wonderful series. About 10 episodes. it goes back about 30 years. Disturbing of course but wonderful. It’s free on Tubi. Some of the babies on there will break your heart. But they pull through! Are so tough!
sometimes it’s hard not to pull out your wallet and support every single Sanctuary. But Jane Goodall has a huge organization with substantial reach. That’s why I choose to support this little gem up in Cle Elum WA that knows who you are and involves you personally every single day with this blog where we can follow our beloved chimps, bovines and critters, and discuss things with our human friends.
OK, I’m off to check out your Survey!
Paulette – The chimpanzee that Tonia had was an adult, I believe. There are still some people who are breeding chimpanzees within the United States for the pet trade or to give away or trade with roadside zoos. There are far fewer than there used to be, but still does happen. I will check that show out! Thanks for mentioning it. And thank you for supporting our little sanctuary in Cle Elum! You’ve beome such an importart source of support in so many ways.
Thank you, Diana. i signed up. As I sat here reading your blog entry my head was shaking no, no. Of course I remember this very disturbed woman from the Chimp Crazy episodes that I sucked up the nerve to watch when it was presented with the commentary by you, Andy and others. How on Earth is this woman still allowed to have any primates in her possession. I hope your message today reaches many new followers on the blog who came on board after George’s rescue so they too will learn about the illegal, inhumane practice of people owning primates, big or small, monkey or ape. Thank you again and everyone at CSNW. That is a very serene, peaceful photo of George.
Thank you so much for sharing this very disturbing news. I won’t go anywhere near that lady’s social media profiles but I certainly will be checking out your survey. As for the second hidden chimpanzee (was there a tip off about it being hidden?) on the property how could the enforcement people miss that? Bad enough to hide one chimpanzee and God knows Tonka’s emotional state bring kept hidden in solitary,but to hide another chimp, it’s just beyond credibility. Yes, I totally agree that there must be better animal protection laws to put an end to this.
On a brighter note, that is a beautiful photo of George and very interesting that he might be the half brother of Tonka!
i was totally unaware of this person and her practice regarding chimps. please keep us informed as things progress.