Zoo
Must Return Baby Giraffes
The two giraffe calves that were born at Natural Bridge Zoo earlier this year – and disappeared soon after – will be turned over to the state in the next few weeks or Gretchen Mogensen, owner of the zoo, will serve 100 days in jail.
That was the ruling of Judge Christopher Russell in Rockbridge County Circuit Court last Wednesday on a contempt of court charge against Mogensen stemming from the missing giraffe calves. He gave Mogensen until noon on Oct. 29 – five weeks from last Wednesday’s hearing – to tell the state where the baby giraffes are, or else to report to the Rockbridge Regional Jail to serve her sentence.
The contempt charge also related to Mogensen’s refusal to cooperate with inspectors from the state attorney general’s office by not allowing them entrance to the zoo when they arrived for an unannounced inspection in April. It was during that inspection that it was discovered that two of the female giraffes, which had been pregnant, had recently given birth. Russell gave Mogensen a fine of $1,000 for not cooperating with the inspectors, which must be paid within 30 days.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Michelle Welch called one witness when making her case – Amy Taylor, an investigator with the attorney general’s office who had overseen the inspections of the giraffes at the zoo. Taylor testified about what happened on April 7 and 8 when she, a veterinarian, and troopers with the Virginia State Police arrived for an unannounced inspection of the zoo.
She said that, upon arrival at the zoo around 2:30 in the afternoon on April 7, she called a phone number posted on the zoo’s entrance and spoke to Debbie Mogensen, Gretchen Mogensen’s stepmother and one of the former owners of the zoo.
Taylor said that Debbie Mogensen said she would call Gretchen Mogensen to let her know that the inspectors were there. A few minutes later, Mogensen called Taylor and said that she wouldn’t be able to come to the zoo to let her in because she was at an appointment, but said that she might be able to be at the zoo by 5 or 5:30 that evening.
Taylor said she discussed with the veterinarian and the trooper whether they could stay, and then called Mogensen back to agree to the later inspection time. At that point, Taylor said Mogensen informed her that she wouldn’t be back that evening. Taylor reminded Mogensen about the court order, and said that Mogensen responded that the order “doesn’t apply to me.”
Taylor and the other inspectors left the zoo and returned around 8:30 the next morning, repeating the process for gaining entry. Mogensen again said she couldn’t be there, at which point Taylor called the attorney general’s office to inform them of the situation. Around 9:30, Taylor received a text from Mogensen saying that she was waiting to hear back from her attorneys, and an hour later, around 10:30 a.m. on April 8, Mogensen arrived at the zoo and let Taylor and the other inspectors in.
Taylor estimated that she had been to the zoo seven times for inspections and that the procedure of calling the number and waiting for Mogensen was the standard practice. For previous inspections, though, Mogensen had arrived soon after the phone call was placed, taking “30 minutes at the most” to let the inspectors in.
Taylor testified that the gate through which they would enter for these inspections was operated by a clicker, similar to a garage door, and that Mogensen had always been the person who let them in. When asked on cross-examination how many clickers there were for the gate and who else might have had access to them, she said she didn’t know.
Taylor went on to testify that, upon entering the zoo and beginning the inspection of the giraffes, she observed that the two female giraffes that had been pregnant at the previous inspection in February were “thinner” and “more active” and that one of them had what appeared to be after-birth on its tail. The veterinarian who was on site “confirmed visually” that the giraffes were no longer pregnant, and photos and video were taken and sent to other veterinarians and giraffe experts who also concluded that both giraffes had given birth.
No giraffe calves were present in the enclosure or in the barn at the zoo on the morning of April 8, and Taylor testified last Wednesday that they had not been returned to the state by Mogensen, or located by the ongoing investigation into their location.
“She allowed someone, or took them off the property, but they were not there,” Welch stated. “She is preventing the county from taking possession of the animals.”
Mogensen’s attorneys opted to not present any evidence for their defense, citing concerns over a potential Fifth Amendment issue should Mogensen take the stand to testify.
Due to the fact that there is an ongoing criminal investigation into the disappearance of the baby giraffes – which Mogensen’s attorneys say has reached the stage where a grand jury has been empanelled – any testimony she would give in defense of the contempt charge could be used as evidence against her in the criminal case.
The defense filed a motion for continuance for the hearing citing the same Fifth Amendment concerns, and after arguments from both the state and the defense, and a lengthy discussion with Russell in his chambers, the motion was denied.
“There’s no doubt they would take advantage and do that, and I’m not saying it would be improper,” Anthony Anderson, one of Mogensen’s defense attorneys, said during his closing argument. “I’m just saying that’s the choice she’s faced with, and it’s a difficult position to be in.”
Prior to moving the discussion into Russell’s chambers, Welch noted that the defense was alleging things that “trouble me,” and made reference to a “multijurisdictional grand jury.” No further clarification was offered on either of those comments in open court.
After making his ruling, Russell noted that no evidence had been presented to suggest that Mogensen had taken direct action in taking the calves from the zoo, but that as the primary owner of the zoo and caretaker for the giraffes, she was ultimately responsible.
