FESTUS, Mo. – Tonia Haddix, a Festus woman and exotic animal owner entangled a series of legal battles, is the subject of a new HBO docuseries called “Chimp Crazy.”
Haddix, who once dubbed herself the “Dolly Parton of chimps,” has faced pushback from law enforcement and animal advocacy groups like PETA, which allege that many chimpanzees under her care were unsafe and neglected.
The new docuseries, directed by Tiger King filmmaker Eric Goode, digs deep into Haddix’s complications, along with broader issues related to the private ownership of exotic animals and standards for such care. It’s a four-part series that premiered last Sunday. This docuseries is based on original reporting from FOX Files investigator Chris Hayes.
Throughout the years, Haddix cared for seven chimpanzees who were bred as talent for films and photoshoots, among other activities. These chimpanzees previously inhabited the Missouri Primate Foundation, a now-defunct animal breeding facility near Festus.
Haddix’s attachment to one chimpanzee, Tonka, sparked national attention in 2021. Tonka is a former animal movie star, appearing in films like the 1997 comedy Buddy. At some point, Haddix claimed that Tonka had died when she instead had him locked in her basement.
Before that, PETA and Haddix agreed to a consent decree in 2020 that would address concerns of neglect and allow Haddix to keep three of the seven chimpanzees, including Tonka, according to our news partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Later on, Haddix told FOX Files reporter Chris Hayes, “They’re not getting the chimps” in defiance of such terms.
Federal authorities eventually removed six chimps, all but Tonka, while responding to Festus in July 2021. Arrangements called to transfer the chimpanzees to a Florida animal sanctuary for treatment. At the time, Haddix stood by the assertion that Tonka was dead.
But nearly one whole year later, Tonka was found caged in Haddix’s basement in her Lake of the Ozarks-area home.
That discovery prompted a new lawsuit from PETA, which contended that Haddix and her husband concocted an elaborate hoax when claiming Tonka had died, lied under oath about text messages she sent about Tonka at a time she previously deemed the chimp dead and tried to bribe federal marshals ordered to prevent Haddix from euthanizing Tonka.
Just last year, a federal court ordered Haddix to pay more than $220,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs to PETA last year to end the lawsuit.
In 2022, amid pending prosecution, Haddix told FOX 2 that she was unable to talk on camera about the situation, but sent the following message: “I still stand on my promise to Tonka, and I would do anything to protect him from the evil clutches of PETA and the hell hole they placed him in. And that if the judicial system was just, he never would have left the only home he’s ever known.”
A description of the docuseries states that Haddix once claimed that she loved Tonka more than her own children.
“Chimp Crazy” debuted on HBO Max’s streaming service on Aug. 18. HBO Max will release a new episodes of the docuseries every Sunday through Sept. 8.
NOTE: The video attached above is from FOX 2’s July 2022 report around Haddix’s legal battles.
