'Chimp Crazy' Star Tonia Haddix Has Been Sentenced to Prison
The former HBO star found herself in legal hot water over the fate of a primate named Tonka.
Published Aug. 8 2025, 3:27 p.m. ET
In 2024, Tonia Haddix appeared on the HBO docuseries Chimp Crazy. The series was produced by the same people behind Tiger King.
It gave viewers the same vibes as the beloved Netflix show, which highlighted the dangers of keeping exotic animals as pets, and the interesting characters that tend to be involved in the practice.
However, after the reality star found herself in some legal hot water over the fate of a chimp named Tonka, many have found themselves asking where is Tonia Haddix now?
The answer to that question might surprise you, especially if you haven't been following her case very closely. Keep reading to learn more about Haddix and how her love of primates landed her in front of a judge.
Where is Tonia Haddix now?
On Aug. 7, 2025, Haddix was sentenced to 46 months in prison after she pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing justice and two felony counts of perjury. After the nearly four-year prison stint ends, Haddix will be subject to three years of supervised release before she has officially served her time.
Her crimes? Lying to a federal judge about her pet chimpanzee Tonka, who she claimed had died.
It appears that Haddix came up with the ruse to avoid surrendering Tonka to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) after she was ordered to do so when she took in a collection of chimps from another sanctuary that had been the subject of an investigation and lawsuit spearheaded by PETA.
The truth eventually came out during the filming of Chimp Crazy, which is how everything boiled over for Haddix.
"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," Brittany Peet, PETA Foundation General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement, said in a statement.
"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," the statement continued in reference to a bill that PETA is working to get pass through Congress, which will make it illegal for people to keep or breed primates in their homes.
What did PETA see on "Chimp Crazy" that raised alarm?
According to Wikipedia, Chimp Crazy followed Haddix as she took care of a collection of chimpanzees, which included Tonka. The first episode of the four-part series showed how she got involved with PETA after taking control of a collection of primates rescued from the Missouri Primate Foundation.
Haddix gushed over Tonka, one of the adult chimpanzees she met in 2018, and shared her unhappiness about being ordered to surrender Tonka and the others to a sanctuary.
However, when officials arrived, Haddix told them that Tonka had died, which was a lie she repeated while under oath to a federal judge. The rest of the three episodes followed Haddix as her lies about Tonka's death unraveled, giving the authorities everything they needed to prove that Tonka was alive.
Sadly, to keep the lie afloat, the chimp had been kept in a small cage in Haddix's basement, where he had little room to walk, and no fresh air or access to the outdoors.
After he was discovered, which happened when producer Eric Goode called authorities to expose Haddix's lie, Tonka was taken to the Save the Chimps sanctuary in Florida, where he is doing quite well.
While this story has a happy ending for Tonka, it highlights just how dangerous it can be for exotic animals to be kept by private citizens, lending credence to the need for more oversight for these vulnerable creatures.