Although the remaining three giraffes were removed from the Natural Bridge Zoo last week, court action involving the zoo is far from over.
The Virginia Attorney General’s Office will be returning to Rockbridge County Circuit Court in July to argue that several individuals should be held in contempt of court for violating court orders in connection with the Natural Bridge Zoo case.
Karl Mogensen, former owner of Natural Bridge Zoo, Gretchen Mogensen, one of the current owners of the zoo, and Sondra Scott, who works with Two By Two 4U, an organization that advocates for animal welfare on behalf of organizations like the zoo, were all served with show cause notices in February for violation of court orders.
Gretchen Mogensen was served with a second show cause notice in April for violation of court orders after it was discovered that the two giraffes who were pregnant had given birth and the babies had been removed from the zoo.
The February motions filed against Gretchen Mogensen and Scott by Senior Assistant Attorney General Michelle Welch, resulted from the removal of Jeffrey, the zoo’s male giraffe, from the site last October.
In its filing, the state alleges that Mogensen attempted to hinder the removal of the giraffes from the zoo by placing a large rock in front of the door to the barn where the giraffes sleep, which also serves as an entrance into their enclosure. The rock was large and required a forklift to remove, slowing efforts to load Jeffrey.
When asked about the rock, Gretchen Mogensen had said that its purpose was to prevent the giraffes from pushing the door open from the inside, but the state noted in its brief that had not been there during previous inspections. Additionally, a front-end loader was parked directly across from the barn entrance which made it difficult for the team to maneuver the trailer into position to load the giraffe.
Gretchen Mogensen also live streamed the removal on Facebook, providing commentary throughout the process. Some of her remarks, the state argued, were inflammatory. At one point, she thought she knew the name of the individual who was driving the trailer to remove Jeffrey, and encouraged people watching the live stream to “blow that [expletive]’s phone up.” It was later confirmed to not be that man driving the trailer, and Mogensen commented that “at least he knows not to do it now.” The state argued in its brief that Mogensen’s intent was to “obstruct the court’s order by preventing people from helping” with the efforts to move the giraffes from the zoo.
During the stream, Mogensen noted that arrangements had been made for someone to “stalk the transporter” after they left the zoo, and the state noted that “at least one car was identified as deliberately following the trailer.” Mogensen also posted photos of several individuals involved in the move, asking people to help identify them.
Scott’s contempt charge also stems from the live stream, during which she revealed the true identity of the transporter and shared a screenshot of his transporter license with his home address clearly visible. As a result, his wife reported receiving several threatening and harassing texts and phone calls, with one caller threatening to “tell the police her children are abused.” She reported an unknown car at the end of her driveway and receiving messages which said “how nice her driveway was.” On the night of Oct. 3, she and her children returned home “to find the door standing open and several miscellaneous household goods scattered and damaged throughout the kitchen and dining room.”
Scott, who sat at the defense table during the zoo trial last year, is also alleged to have targeted several other facilities and individuals connected with the state’s case, including the Knoxville zoo where one of the veterinarians who was present during Jeffrey’s move works; the Oakland zoo where two of the state’s expert witnesses work; and the Georgia Safari Park where the giraffes were transported. The state also contends that she encouraged others to target these individuals and businesses, which resulted in one frequent poster on the Two By Two 4U Facebook page to find and post photos of the transporter’s wife on the page.
Karl Mogensen’s contempt charge centers around two incidents. The first was a text he sent to the director of the Richmond Zoo, which is one of the facilities housing animals seized by and awarded to the state. The court’s ruling forbade him from contacting any of the facilities, and in his text he admitted, “I know that we are not supposed to contact each other.” He then went on to say that he hoped the animals were “doing well.”
The second incident cited occurred on the day of Jeffrey’s move, when Mogensen contacted the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office and asked them to “run the giraffe trailer’s plates because he wanted to find out who the transporter was.” He went on to allege that the transporter was “stealing his giraffes.”
A second show cause for violating a court order was filed against Gretchen Mogensen on April 17, this one stemming from an incident on April 7 and 8. In the state’s brief, they argue that Mogensen violated the order by not cooperating with an inspection team and letting them into the zoo to examine the giraffes, and by removing two newborn giraffes – which the state contend belong to them – from the zoo.
On the morning of April 7, the inspection team consisting of Amy Taylor, an investigator with the attorney general’s office, veterinarian Dr. Lincoln Montgomery- Rogers and officers with the Virginia State Police arrived at the zoo to inspect the giraffes. Taylor called Debbie Mogensen (Karl’s wife and Gretchen’s mother) to be let in. Debbie Mogensen said she was out of town, but she would ask Gretchen about letting them in.
When contacted, Gretchen Mogensen said she was not at the zoo and would be back “before 5 or 5:30 p.m.” She then refused to come back to the zoo and said she would be back the following morning. The inspection team left and returned at 8 a.m. on April 8, at which point Taylor contacted Gretchen Mogensen, who said she would be there at 9:30. Taylor told Mogensen that she was required to cooperate due to the court order, and Mogensen replied that the order didn’t apply to her. At that point, Taylor contacted the attorney general’s office to let them know what was going on.
Taylor called Mogensen again at 9:32 and Mogensen again refused to let the inspection team into the zoo, saying that she was speaking with her attorneys. At 10:23 a.m. the inspection team was granted access to the zoo and the giraffes.
Upon inspection it “became apparent” that the two giraffes who had been pregnant had given birth since the previous inspection on Feb. 25. One of the giraffes still had afterbirth present on its tail. Taylor and Montgomery-Rogers consulted with giraffe expert Amy Phelps and another veterinarian, Dr. Ernest Dominguez, who both concurred that the giraffes had given birth. The calves, however, were not at the zoo.
The state contacted Mogensen’s attorneys and asked them to share the location of the baby giraffes, but had not received a response by April 17 when they filed the motion.
The calves, the state argued, are property of the state “like their mothers” and “nothing in the court order allows any of the giraffes to be hidden away.” They go on to allege that Mogensen either separated the calves from their mothers or facilitated it, noting that baby giraffes should stay with their mothers for approximately two years before being separated.
“Moving or facilitating the movment of these giraffes was another violation of the court order, along with Gretchen’s attempts to delay the inspection team and conceal the calves’ absence,” Welch argued in her motion.
Neither the Mogensens nor Scott had filed any responses to the motions as of Tuesday. Hearings for all of the motions are scheduled for July 2.
