The saga involving the Natural Bridge Zoo in Rockbridge County continues, as the owner must now turn over two missing baby giraffes by noon on Wednesday or report to Rockbridge Regional Jail to serve a 100-day sentence for contempt.
This isn’t the first zoo that Virginia’s Animal Control Unit has targeted, and many believe that the heavy-handed tactics have been unfair and pushed by animal groups that are intent on shutting down all private zoos.
Similar allegations of animal cruelty were made in 2019 against Wilson’s Wild Animal Park in Winchester. More than 100 exotic animals were seized, including lions, tigers and bears. One day prior to the seizure, the USDA animal welfare inspector was on site and reported no issues.
In Natural Bridge, the inspections and seizures allegedly came early in the day, before staff could clean up from overnight.
Both zoos believe animal rights groups influenced the government’s decision to target them.
The undercover informant at the Natural Bridge Zoo was hired as a farmhand and groundskeeper, documenting conditions at the zoo while working there.
“It should have been disclosed, we believe that that individual was being paid by an animal activist organization, PETA, to work undercover and to surreptitiously film,” defense attorney Erin Harrigan argued in the Natural Bridge case. “He was also the primary caretaker for some of the animals that they allege in the affidavit were receiving inadequate care.”
The contempt case
A Rockbridge County Circuit Court judge ruled on Sept. 24 that Gretchen Mogensen, the daughter of former owners Karl and Debbie Mogensen, is the zoo manager and is ultimately responsible for turning the missing giraffe calves over to the state. She will have to turn herself in on Wednesday unless the Virginia Court of Appeals intervenes.
Four adult giraffes were seized in place by the Attorney General’s Animal Control Unit in December 2023.
Despite allegations of abuse and neglect, the giraffes remained at the zoo for months with the zoo staff responsible for their care. If the allegations were true, and the animals were being mistreated, one would think they would have been immediately removed, or the state would have had them moved within 30 days, 60 days, 90 days … instead, the majority of the giraffes remained at the zoo for a year and a half with only a few inspections during that time.
Inspections of the four giraffes took place in October 2024, December 2024 and February 2025.
Jeffrey was moved last October; Little Girl, Valentine and Wrinkles were moved the week of May 19.
The move of the final three giraffes was likely ordered after two giraffe calves weren’t located at the zoo in April; Little Girl and Valentine were both pregnant with babies due in the spring.
Michelle Welch with the state’s Animal Control Unit told the judge that the Mogensens were required to notify that state about the birth of the giraffes and failed to do so.
When the inspection team arrived in April, Gretchen Mogensen was unavailable. The state said inspectors were denied entry three times. Mogensen’s attorney argued that while there was a delay, it did not constitute contempt.
When inspectors were allowed into the zoo, the giraffe calves were not on site, but the two female giraffes were skinnier, and one allegedly had afterbirth in its tail.
Mogensen has not disclosed where the calves are now; she did not testify at the contempt hearing due to the pending criminal case.
A single giraffe calf sold to other zoos or animal parks can fetch anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 or more.
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It should be noted that all four adult giraffes were eventually transported to a conservation park in Georgia. However, Valentine died during the transfer process. The attorney general’s office was quick to place blame on the zoo, saying the death was part of criminal proceedings against it, and the investigation was looking at two injection sites on the deceased giraffe.
The zoo believes Valentine’s death was preventable, that she was showing obvious signs of stress during attempts to load her, but their observations were ignored.
Animal advocates have asked for an independent investigation into the death of Valentine.
A criminal investigation is pending against the zoo and the Mogensens. Welch has said that the charges will go before a multi-jurisdictional grand jury.
Virginia is the only state whose attorney general’s office has an Animal Control Unit. While other states have expressed an interest in having something similar, nuanced laws regarding animal law have prevented it. Animal owners’ groups are concerned about the unchecked power of the unit and believe it should be shut down, leaving oversight to the USDA and local animal control officers.
Who actually owned the baby giraffes?
A raid took place at the zoo in December 2023. Inspectors were originally looking for an elephant at the zoo, Asha, but it was no longer there.
When the state came up empty-handed on the elephant, it seized nearly 100 other animals from the facility, citing neglect.
Four giraffes were effectively seized in place – not moved due to their size and transportation challenges.
A legal expert told AFP that if the search warrant was closed without the giraffes in custody of law enforcement, another search warrant would be required to lawfully seize them. Seizing and holding on site is also only applicable to agricultural animals, according to Virginia code. Giraffes are classified as exotic animals. The state asked the court for seizure after the fact, something that may not have been legal.
In April 2024, a jury trial granted the state permanent custody of 70 animals; 24 were returned to the zoo.
In an Oct. 2, 2024, hearing, a judge addressed the issue of the unborn giraffes.
“An unborn animal is not an animal. It’s an unborn animal. I mean we’re not here to discuss lofty issues of like when life begins or anything like that or – there are no constitutional issues with regard to these unborn animals,” the judge said, according to a court transcript.
It seems that while the Animal Control Unit believed the unborn giraffes were covered in the seizure, there was certainly reasonable doubt about the ownership.
Animal Control Unit focused on private zoos
While the state moves forward with the criminal investigation, the zoo owners are doing all within their power and means to fight back.
Other zoos and animal owner groups have stood up for the zoo owners arguing their animals should have never been taken from them.
A Missouri-based organization that advocates for animal owners spoke up after the Winchester raid defending the owner, Keith Wilson.
“I certainly don’t condone animal abuse of any kind, but this is becoming a cult-like attack on Americans and their private property completely violating due process and our Constitutional rights,” Mindy Patterson, co-founder and president of Cavalry Group, told the Winchester Star.
“Keith Wilson has not been treated fairly. His animals have been stolen from him. His business has been destroyed. His livelihood has been destroyed.”
A Virginia-based zoo manager believes the Mogensens are also victims in the case.
“I would love for them to, you know, get their reputations back. I don’t even know if that’s possible. I would like people to know the Mogensens, the family that I know, because they’re very they’re very good with animals,” said Heidi Crosky, the manager of Fort Chiswell Animal Park. “I don’t know how they can be exonerated. I hope they can win their appeals. They have financially destroyed them. They have, I think, in a lot of ways, emotionally destroyed them.”
Crosky launched the Virginia Animal Owners Alliance after the 2019 raid of the Winchester zoo. The alliance has been very outspoken on the heavy-handed treatment of the Mogensens.
Independent zoos worry that they will be targeted next. Crosky said there are only a handful of private zoos and safari parks left in the state.
“When you have a zoo, there’s always activists,” Crosky said. “People complain about things, but nothing like what the Mogensens have gone through. It’s scary.”
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Crystal Graham
