Actress Alicia Silverstone has partnered with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information that leads to the location of the two baby giraffes that went missing from the Natural Bridge Zoo earlier this year.
“Tearing babies away from their distraught mothers is devastating for both, no matter what species they are,” Silverstone said in a press release. “These missing babies need specialized care, and every day counts in finding them, so I hope someone with information about their whereabouts will come forward now.”
Sliverstone, best known for her role in the 1995 comedy “Clueless,” has been a vegan and animal rights activist since 1998 and has endorsed numerous PETA activities and appeared in ads supporting causes from the organization. Most recently, in 2023 she appeared in a PETA campaign with her son encouraging schools to adopt alternatives to animal dissection. In 2009, she published “The Kind Diet,” a book which offered tips on how to transition to a vegan diet and lifestyle.
The giraffe calves, which were discovered to be missing from the zoo in April, are the most recent focus of the ongoing saga of the Natural Bridge Zoo, which began with the seizure of 100 animals from the zoo in December 2023. Included in that number were four giraffes that were left at the zoo throughout the trial in early 2024.
It was later discovered that two of the female giraffes were pregnant. Gretchen Mogensen, the owner of the zoo, was instructed to notify the Attorney General’s Office if the giraffes gave birth.
She did not do so, and was found to be in contempt of court in September for not revealing the location of the giraffe calves. Mogensen was given until Oct. 29 to reveal the location of the calves to the state or to report to Rockbridge Regional Jail to serve a 100-day sentence.
After motions to stay the judgment until after the case was appealed were denied in both Rockbridge County Circuit Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals, Mogensen reported to the jail to begin serving her sentence.
