Animal rights organization PETA is taking steps to ensure the Festus couple who handled Tonka, a movie star chimp, isn't able to handle animals again.
Tonka the chimp was missing and believed to be dead last year, after PETA attempted to rescue all the chimpanzees held by Tonia Haddix. But Haddix had actually concocted an elaborate hoax to fake the chimp’s death, even lying under oath saying Tonka was dead. The whole time, he was locked in a cage in Haddix’s basement.
PETA eventually rescued Tonka, who now lives at the Save the Chimps facility in Florida.
Friday morning, PETA sent a complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, asking them to revoke the licenses held by Haddix and her husband to prevent them from owning chimpanzees again. PETA’s claim alleges Haddix and her husband kept seven chimpanzees, including Tonka, in conditions that violated the Endangered Species Act.
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