Nearly 120 animals seized, tiger euthanized, from Va. roadside zoo
Nearly 120 animals were seized, including dozens that were dead and a white Bengal tiger that a veterinarian determined had to be euthanized, from a roadside zoo in Virginia as part of an animal cruelty investigation, according to search warrants, court documents and interviews.
The animals were removed last week after state officials descended on Natural Bridge Zoo, which has been the subject of complaints from animal rights activists and zoo regulators for years, as part of a fresh criminal probe.
An investigator with the office of Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares (R) wrote in a search warrant that the ongoing investigation found animals in distress and that the probe revealed the zoo’s elephant, named Asha, had been found standing in a puddle of her own urine and feces because she was chained and could not move away. Animal rights groups have long called for the release of Asha and for Natural Bridge to lose its license over the elephant’s treatment.
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No charges have been filed against zoo officials to date.
“We believe there to be a direct and immediate threat to the health and safety of the animals,” the investigator with the attorney general’s office wrote. “There are a number of animals with a lack of food and/or water, unclean or unsuitable environments, a lack of veterinary care, a lack of enrichment and suffering from ill treatment.”
Debbie Mogensen, who owns the zoo with her husband, Karl, referred questions to their attorney, Mario Williams, who said that the zoo was being unfairly targeted and that some of the claims in court documents were inaccurate.
“We will demonstrate these animals have not been abused and neglected,” Williams said.
The living animals seized included sacred ibises, white-faced capuchins, tortoises and Burmese pythons, while the 28 dead animals included an alligator, a mandrill and a green-winged macaw, according to a search warrant. The court documents do not indicate how or when the animals died.
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A hearing is scheduled in Rockbridge County General District Court on Dec. 20 to determine what will ultimately be done with the animals. The hearing will also examine whether four giraffes at the zoo, which were not seized, have been mistreated. Williams has filed a lawsuit to try to get the hearing delayed because there is not adequate time to mount a proper defense, he said.
Investigators also seized a giraffe’s head, the legs of a zebra, pelts and other animal parts, but a search warrant does not say if they were part of exhibits at the zoo or were being held for some other reason.
Victoria LaCivita, a spokeswoman for Miyares, declined to comment on the criminal probe because the investigation is ongoing, but she said that “the tiger was euthanized with consent of the owners to humanely end its suffering upon recommendation by the specialist veterinarian following their examination.”
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The investigator with the attorney general’s office wrote in a search warrant that the probe stemmed from information from a confidential informant, who was hired at the zoo in March. The informant recorded videos and documented conditions at the zoo over a number of months while working as a groundskeeper.
A trainer, who cares for Asha and who employs a hooked metal rod known as a bullhook, told the informant that it is important to gain the respect of the animals and advised “always” jabbing them “where bone is close to flesh,” according to a search warrant.
“Make it count,” the trainer allegedly told the informant.
The informant was able to gain access to the barn where Asha was kept, according to a search warrant. The trainer explained to the informant that Asha was always chained in the barn because the walls of the structure were cracked. The trainer could not be reached for comment.
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The informant found Asha standing in her own waste because the restraints kept her from moving elsewhere, according to the search warrant. The elephant has lived alone for years, and the investigator asserted that Asha has little enrichment.
“Asha sways from side to side in order to soothe herself and relieve boredom and stress,” the search warrant states.
Asha, who gives rides to zoo visitors, carried 359 riders over a two-day span, according to the search warrant. The investigator wrote that sometimes the riders exceeded the weight she was supposed to carry.
The attorney general’s office investigator saw issues with other animals as well, including a monkey with significant hair loss, a flamingo with a dirty pond and a giraffe that had overgrown hooves during a visit to the zoo on Oct. 25, according to a search warrant.
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Federal zoo inspectors have cited Natural Bridge over 150 times since 2000, according to a tally by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The issues include alleged mistreatment of a tiger cub that died, slamming guinea pigs into a hard surface to kill them so they could be used for food for large cats, and allegedly failing to seek immediate care for a mandrill that later died.
The Mogensen family has operated a handful of roadside zoos in the area in recent years. Eric Mogensen, the son of Karl Mogensen, formerly owned the Reston Zoo. Eric Mogensen’s daughter, Meghan, the former director of that zoo, was found guilty of drowning a wallaby in 2012. The family no longer owns the Reston Zoo.
Roadside zoos, which are lightly regulated, have been plagued by problems in Virginia and states across the country. In Maryland, zebras that escaped from a roadside zoo gained national attention, before their owner was tried and acquitted on animal cruelty charges related to the incident.
A 2015 Washington Post investigation found more than 80 animals that had died, were injured or were sickened at six roadside zoos in the area over the preceding decade because of abuse, neglect and other issues.
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