The Virginia Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit returned to Natural Bridge Zoo this week to remove the remaining giraffes from the zoo’s premises.
Crews began working to load one of the three female giraffes, Valentine, on Monday, but noted she was showing signs of stress and opted to leave and return on Tuesday to try again. The first of the three giraffes was loaded into the trailer around 11:30 Tuesday morning, which departed the zoo before noon.
The zoo’s four giraffes were among the 100 animals seized by the state in December 2023. Following a hearing in Rockbridge County General District Court in January 2024, Judge Gregory Mooney ruled that the giraffes and all but 39 of the other animals would be forfeited to the state. Karl and Debbie Mogensen, the owners of the Natural Bridge Zoo, appealed the ruling in a trial held in the county’s circuit court in March, at which time a jury gave custody of 10 of the animals originally awarded to the zoo back to the state. The giraffes were housed at the zoo during the entire process and custody of them was awarded to the state in both court rulings.
The Animal Law Unit removed the first giraffe – a male named Jeffrey – in October 2024 before an emergency stay was filed by the zoo’s attorney with the Virginia Court of Appeals. The stay was lifted in November, but by then the weather was not suitable for moving the giraffes.
Gretchen Mogensen, who took over ownership of the zoo last spring along with two of her brothers, livestreamed the Animal Law Unit’s efforts to load Jeffrey into a trailer on Facebook and promised to do the same with the removal of the other giraffes. This week’s efforts were streamed through the Natural Bridge Zoo’s Facebook page and were comprised of footage from security cameras around the giraffe’s enclosure. In a comment by the Natural Bridge Zoo page on Monday’s live stream, it was noted that “Many of the people that were present [in October] don’t seem to be here today.”
The post for Tuesday’s live stream read, “In December 2023 the Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit seized the giraffe in place at the park. Ten months later in October 2024 they came and took Jeffrey the Giraffe. Today, eight months after Jeffrey, they are removing the female giraffe. It has been 529 days since they were seized in place, as it was alleged remaining at the park was an immediate threat to their life, safety and welfare. Since that time they have remained at Natural Bridge Zoo without any care provided by Virginia State or Rockbridge County.”
When contacted by The News-Gazette Tuesday, a spokesman for the Virginia Attorney General’s office declined to comment.
