WARNING: This article contains spoilers from HBO’s “Chimp Crazy.”
PETA announced a $10,000 reward Tuesday for anyone who brings evidence that helps law enforcement confiscate chimpanzees from roadside zoos, private compounds and throughout the pet trade.
Viewers of “Chimp Crazy” were left horrified Sunday night as the series finale showed just how Godless the bizarre pro-monkeys-as-pets faction of American society can be. The $10,000 is specifically for “evidence that results in the confiscation by law-enforcement authorities of chimpanzees languishing at roadside zoos, in private compounds, and in the pet trade,” according to an email shared with Daily Caller.
Three primates PETA is specifically going for are Bow, who lives in a private Missouri home; Limbani, who resides in a roadside zoo in Miami, Florida and Ricky, also in Florida.
For those of you who’ve not seen the Eric Goode masterpiece, don’t be fooled: this is no “Tiger King.” Criminals like Joe Exotic and Doc Antle were made into pseudo-celebs thanks to the Netflix series. I don’t think the same will be said of those profiled in HBO’s “Chimp Crazy.”
On the heels of the season finale, I spoke with PETA general counsel Brittany Peet about her experience throughout the series and her work trying to save chimps from captivity across the country. (RELATED: Residents Try To Intervene As State Wants To Ban Big Cat Hunting. Millions Of Dollars And Critical Ecosystems At Stake)
“The reaction from Chimp Crazy has been strikingly different to ‘Tiger King.’ There were people who got it right away, that these people were animal abusers, but the overwhelming reaction was that ‘Tiger King’ was a joke. Joe Exotic was a funny character, like a folk hero, and he’s the one in prison!” Peet said during our call. The same likely won’t be said of Haddix.
The series follows a woman called Tonia Haddix as she evades law enforcement and lies in court (amongst other things) all so she can keep her pet chimpanzee, Tonka, locked in her basement. It sounds entertaining at first, but you really need to go into this series with a strong stomach.
A shit show. Watch the latest episode of #ChimpCrazy on @StreamOnMax. pic.twitter.com/Gwn2VW2JuF
— HBO Documentaries (@HBODocs) September 10, 2024
Yeah, the NFL is cool or whatever. But y’all, the finale of #ChimpCrazy comes on tonight… pic.twitter.com/XYAzPov6LD
— duncan butler (@dunkbutler) September 9, 2024
I want you to imagine for a moment that shortly after you were born, a person rips you from your mother’s arms and takes you to a strange house. You spend all day, every day, in a small, brightly colored, concrete box-cage. Sometimes different people come and sit on the other side of the bars and show you a flashing screen. It’s videos of other people, just like you. They’re having fun and exploring the world. All the while, you sit in your box, eat junk food and slowly rot away. That’s your life. (RELATED: Scientists Find Link Between Energy Drinks And Childhood Mental Health, And It Shouldn’t Surprise You)
If you escaped from this cage, you’d probably be pretty upset at your captor for forcing you to live such an empty life. Perhaps you lash out on her, or any other person you come into contact with. If you were a chimp, you’d probably rip their face off while eating chunks of their libs, like many of those profiled throughout “Chimp Crazy.”
HANGZHOU, CHINA – FEBRUARY 18: (CHINA OUT) A mother chimpanzee holds her baby in arms at Hangzhou Zoo on February 18, 2016 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. It’s said that the baby chimpanzee was born on January 23 that he is not yet reaching to one month. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 10: Charla Nash (R), the victim of a mauling by a pet chimp in Connecticut in 2009 and who underwent a face transplant, is helped to her seat by her friend Shelly Sindland (C) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) (L) during a press conference July 10, 2014 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Nash joined members of Congress in advocating for changes in federal law banning the interstate trade of primates. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Instead of giving these chimps a beautiful life in a sanctuary, the docuseries implies these women would rather kill their “babies” than see them happy in an actual home suitable for their species. (RELATED: ‘Chimp Crazy’ Is Circus-Level Carnage, And We Can’t Get Enough (REVIEW))
To me, keeping a chimpanzee as a pet is akin to human trafficking, physical and emotional abuse, and a major risk to anyone and everyone in the vicinity of these wild animals. You’re basically breeding a monster. Some people I’ve spoken to even pointed out the parallels between the way women like Haddix treat chimps and the mother of Gypsy Rose Blanchard of “Mommy Dead and Dearest.”
Blanchard was released from prison in 2023, where she served time for her role in the murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. Dee Dee’s suspected case of Munchausen by Proxy led to convincing hundreds of people, including doctors, that her daughter was seriously ill.
Every scene in Chimp Crazy is like “yeah I love this chimpanzee more than my children.” And then they feed the poor guys ramen, booze, and chicken McNuggets.
— Katie 💀🌒 (@katietcc) September 8, 2024
The one thing everyone keeps asking Peet: “Why isn’t she in prison?” It is a fair question, but not one I can answer today. Aside from the highly complex legal statutes around owning chimps, exotic and endangered species, none of the state or federal agencies who should be policing this trade are actually doing anything, Peet noted. The government not doing what they are paid to do with our taxes?! The shock! Said no one, ever.
What’s more horrifying is that Haddix still has an animal welfare license, meaning she can still legally operate a zoo. Oh, and did I mention she had half her ear ripped off by a chimp in the final episode?
the last ten minutes of the Chimp Crazy finale is some of the wildest delusion I’ve ever seen on television
— Daniel Golson (@dsgolson) September 9, 2024
tonia gets her finger and ear bit off and decides she still wants to live among apes. sandy sees her friend get mauled by her pet chimp and buys another one right after. these people aren’t passionate they have a mental illness lol #ChimpCrazy
— kirdy ♡ (@kirdyyybear) September 9, 2024
Thankfully, there is hope!
After the release of “Tiger King,” the number of captive tigers in the U.S. started to fall for the first time ever. PETA is hoping they’ll see the same thing with “Chimp Crazy,” but they’re definitely helping the cause along. (RELATED: ‘Bad Monkey’ Is The Best Show Of 2024. It’s Not Even Close)
“‘Chimp Crazy’ shows that powerful primates aren’t playthings, and disaster could strike at any minute as long as Limbani, Bow, Ricky and other chimpanzees are used by humans for ego gratification and social media ‘likes,’” Peet said in a separate statement.
If you haven’t seen it already, go watch “Chimp Crazy” on HBO right now.
