Alan Cumming and PETA are offering a combined reward of $20,000 for anyone who has information about Tonka, the chimpanzee who appeared alongside the actor in the 1997 film, "Buddy."
Tonka was last seen at the now-defunct Missouri Primate Foundation, a facility based in Festus, Missouri, that bred baby chimpanzees and rented them out for entertainment, according to PETA.
“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.
“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.”
The animal rights organization previously sued the Missouri Primate Foundation over the living conditions of chimpanzees housed there and was granted permission to rescue Tonka and six other chimpanzees from the facility, according to PETA.
But when PETA carried out the court's order last July, Tonka vanished, and owner Tonia Haddix said he had "died," PETA said in the statement. In January, a judge ruled that Haddix's testimony was not credible, prompting PETA and Cumming to offer a reward for information leading to Tonka's whereabouts.
Haddix did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Anyone with information about Tonka can call PETA at 757-622-PETA or submit tips at PETA.org/Tonka.
