Zoo Owner Reports To Jail

Gretchen Mogensen, owner of the Natural Bridge Zoo, reported to the Rockbridge
Regional Jail at noon today to begin serving a 100-day sentence for contempt of court.
She was found guilty of contempt at a hearing in September for failing to disclose the
location of two baby giraffes after they were found to be missing from the zoo during an
inspection by state officials in April.
Mogensen was ordered to disclose the location of the baby giraffes by noon today or to
report to the jail to serve out her sentence. Mogensen was also given a $1,000 fine for a
contempt citation related to failing to cooperate with state inspectors when they came to
the zoo in April.
Mogensen’s attorneys have filed a notice to appeal the circuit court ruling on the
contempt citation, and also filed motions to stay the sentence with both the Rockbridge
County Circuit Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals pending the completion of the
appeal of the ruling. Both motions were denied.
For more details and updates on the case, see the upcoming edition of The News-Gazette.