Tonia Haddix, the woman at the center of the Emmy-nominated HBO documentary series “Chimp Crazy,” has been sentenced to 46 months in prison after faking the death of a chimpanzee to avoid turning him over to authorities as ordered.
She pled guilty to two felony counts of perjury and one felony count of obstruction of justice.
“Chimp Crazy,” which aired for four episodes on HBO starting in Aug. 2024, was directed by Eric Goode, one of the directors of Netflix’s COVID-era sensation “Tiger King.” The series follows Haddix, who lied to the animal rights organization PETA and legal authorities about the whereabouts of a chimpanzee, Tonka.
“Chimp Crazy” lays out Haddix’s ownership of the Missouri Primate Foundation, a facility in Festus, Missouri, less than an hour outside St. Louis. The MPF, amid a lawsuit with PETA over the alleged abuse of the chimpanzees, was ordered to turn the animals over to an animal sanctuary.
Haddix, who had previously formed a strong bond with Tonka, told authorities and PETA officials that the chimp had died and been cremated. This was later discovered to not be the case, with Haddix harboring her beloved chimpanzee in her basement.
“Chimp Crazy” went on to become both a critical and commercial success, gaining HBO’s highest docuseries viewership since 2020’s “McMillions.” The show was twice-nominated at the 2025 Emmys: once for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program and once for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program.
Haddix was sentenced to her 46 months by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis after her guilty pleas. The sentence comes with three years supervised release.
“Now that Tonia Haddix is locked up, she’s getting a taste of the suffering she inflicted on animals by imprisoning them in cages and denying them any semblance of a natural life,” PETA Foundation General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet said in a statement. Peet was present for Haddix’s sentencing. “PETA is relieved to see justice done and urges everyone to support the Captive Primate Safety Act, which will keep vulnerable monkeys and apes out of the pet trade and the hands of ruthless dealers like Haddix.”
Haddix was reportedly arrested again in late July for violating an agreement with PETA by keeping another chimpanzee in her basement.
