Seven chimpanzees housed at a sanctuary south of Festus will be relocated within the next six months.
Tammy Haddix, owner of the Missouri Primate Foundation at 12338 Hwy. CC in the Festus area, has agreed to give up ownership of four of the chimps and relocate three other chimps to a facility she is constructing in Stoddard County as part of an agreement to end a four-year-old lawsuit the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed against the facility and its previous owner, Connie Casey.
On Oct. 13, U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry entered a final judgement in the case involving the sanctuary.
“It is heartbreaking,” Haddix said of having to give up four of the seven chimpanzees in her care. “I just want Connie (Casey) to be OK, and I just want the chimps to be OK.”
The Missouri Primate Foundation formerly was known as Chimparty, which provided chimps for parties, television ads and movies. Casey closed the business and transferred ownership to Haddix in an attempt to end the lawsuit PETA filed in December 2016, claiming the facility’s conditions were unfit for the animals.
“PETA is pleased that it has been able to secure the removal of every chimpanzee from the Missouri Primate Foundation, a substandard facility where, experts agreed, these endangered animals have been held in conditions that fail to meet their complex needs, causing them psychological suffering and threatening their well-being,” said Jared Goodman, a PETA lawyer. “We look forward to the transfer of at least four of the chimpanzees remaining there to an accredited sanctuary as soon as possible.”
According to an Oct. 2 consent decree, ownership and custody of four chimpanzees – Tammy, Connor, Candy and Kerry – will be transferred from Haddix to the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Fla. The sanctuary is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, according to the agreement.
Haddix will be allowed to retain ownership of three chimps – Crystal, Mikayla and Tonka. As part of the agreement, Haddix is required to build an exterior enclosure and a “night house” for the three chips, according to specific space requirements and construction standards, the decree said.
Along with building the habitats, Haddix is required to hire a full-time caregiver with at least two years of experience caring for captive chimpanzees. She also must hire a part-time maintenance worker, and she must recruit experienced volunteers to provide care for the three chimps, according to the decree.
Haddix has six months to meet the requirements of the decree, or all the chimpanzees will be transferred to the Wauchula facility, according to the agreement.
“It took about three or four months to come up with an amical agreement,” Haddix said. “I chose Center for Great Apes. If we had to choose a globally federated (sanctuary), the only one I would choose is Center for Great Apes.”
Haddix said she agreed to transfer ownership of Tammy, Connor, Candy and Kerry because she believes those four have the best chance of adjusting to living in the Florida facility.
“I don’t think any of them should have to move, but under the circumstances, I know that Tonka, Crystal and Mikayla could never survive a sanctuary-type setting,” Haddix said. “I chose the four I felt would sustain. Do I think they are going to thrive? No. Do I think they will do OK? Possibly.”
Haddix said Crystal, Mikayla and Tonka are too accustomed to human interaction to survive in a sanctuary.
“Tonka is the most humanized chimp,” Haddix said. “He thrives being around people, and he would rather be around a person than another chimp. He can be in the same cage with another chimp, but he will forego that chimp for human intention. He has to have everyday interaction with humans, or I don’t think he would survive. I think he would starve himself to death.
“He has an enlarged heart. I didn’t want to put pressure on him, not knowing his family.”
Haddix said Crystal and Mikayla were raised by Casey and have never experienced living anywhere but the Missouri Primate Foundation.
“They are very sheltered,” said Haddix, who also is not allowed to breed chimps or own new chimps under the terms of the consent decree. “I feel like they need to be kept. I don’t think their adaptation would be there.”
As part of the agreement, PETA will delete any references of Casey from its online publications and will not mention her in future publications.
Haddix said Casey is sad she no longer will have the chimpanzees at the facility she owned before handing over the reins to Haddix.
“She is relieved to the extent that at least three of her babies will stay in private ownership,” Haddix said. “Until the day comes and the chimps are taken off the property, that will be the deciding factor how Connie will handle things.”
Haddix said she expects the facility she is building for Crystal, Mikayla and Tonka in Stoddard County to be completed and ready for the chimps by February. She also said the three chimps will not move until the other four have been relocated to the Florida.
She said the Center for Great Apes is working to create the space needed to house Tammy, Connor, Candy and Kerry.
Haddix said she chose the location in southeast Missouri for her new facility because of the low population density.
Three chimpanzees escaped from the Missouri Primate Foundation this year in separate incidents in June and August.
In June, Makayla escaped from the facility and was seen on Hwy. CC attempting to open a car door before she was captured and returned to the facility. In August, Tammy and Kerry got out of the facility but never left the property before being tranquilized and returned.
“Because of the issues in Jefferson County and the escapes we have had, I have moved to a more rural county, so there is nobody next to the facility,” Haddix said.
When PETA first made complaints against Casey, the group claimed her facility was used to breed chimps that were sold to roadside attractions and used in movies or on Hallmark cards. In 2018, Casey’s lawyers offered to have a special master or guardian find homes for the chimps, claiming Casey “cannot emotionally, physically or financially endure drawn-out litigation utilizing bullying tactics.”
The lawyers also called PETA’s claims “false and vicious.”
In November 2019, Perry also ordered another chimpanzee owner, a man, to give up ownership of a chimp named Joey, who had once been at the Missouri Primate Foundation. Then, in March, Perry ordered the man to transfer Joey to the Florida facility that Tammy, Connor, Candy and Kerry will be relocated to, and the judge reiterated that order on Aug. 24, according to court papers.
The man had placed Joey in an undisclosed location, and PETA’s lawyers said he had moved the chimp to property owned by Bhagavan Antle, who appeared in Netflix’s documentary “Tiger King,” court documents indicate.
Click to read past Leader coverage on the events that led to "Chimp Crazy."