Alan Cumming Doubles PETA Reward to Find Former Chimpanzee Co-Star Who Mysteriously Disappeared

Alan Cumming is teaming up with PETA to offer a reward for anyone who has information about Tonka, his former chimpanzee costar, who mysteriously disappeared.

Source: PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)/Youtube

The Scottish actor starred with Tonka in the 1997 family comedy Buddy, which followed the true story of Gertrude Lintz, a socialite who raised monkeys as a part of her family in the 1920s.

“During the months we filmed together, baby Tonka and I became good friends, playing and grooming each other and just generally larking about,” Cumming said in a statement.

According to PETA, Tonka was last seen in a cage at a former chimpanzee breeding facility in Missouri, also known as ‘Chimparty.’ Chimps at the Missouri Primate Foundation were bred there and rented out for movies and parties or even sold to private owners.

Previously, PETA sued the facility over the living conditions of the chimps and was granted permission to rescue Tonka and six others and move them to an accredited sanctuary. However, PETA said when they went to carry out the court’s order last July, Tonka had seemingly vanished. The owner claimed he had died, but her stories weren’t adding up, and she failed to prove this was a fact. The owner has previously said that PETA would never get Tonka, and a court found her testimony not credible.

PETA put up a $10,000 reward for information about Tonka, which Cumming doubled, bringing the total to $20,000.

“It’s horrible to think he might be in a cage in a dark basement somewhere or have met some other fate, so I’m appealing to whoever knows what has become of him to please come forward and claim the reward,” said Cumming.

“If you know where Cumming’s former costar may have been shipped to, sold, or hidden away, PETA wants to hear from you,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement, Brittany Peet. “If he’s still alive, Tonka deserves to live out the rest of his days surrounded by chimpanzee friends at a lush sanctuary, as ordered by the court, and someone out there might be able to help PETA get him there.” Sign this petition to help find Tonka the chimpanzee!

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