LEXINGTON, Va. – The Attorney General’s office rested its case in Natural Bridge Zoo’s animal seizure hearing on Tuesday, but the defense will have a chance to call witnesses on Wednesday.
Virginia State Police, along with the Attorney General’s office, executed a search warrant at the zoo on Dec. 6-7 and seized just under 100 animals. Tuesday was the second day of the seizure hearing, which could lead to the zoo permanently losing its animals.
The state’s veterinarians took the stand to justify why they took each animal. They allege animals they seized were sick, injured or not receiving proper care like food or water.
They showed examples of missing feathers, crooked beaks and behaviors signaling stress.
The defense called into question how long conditions persisted, showing that the search of the zoo started early in the morning before keepers were able to refill food or water bowls and clean. They said stress may have been caused by the search.
Plus, they said the argument of lack of food is invalid because the state’s vets testified some of the animals were not underweight.
The Commonwealth asked vets about a hornbill bird that was seized, asking if it had a mate, to which vets testified it didn’t have one with it, and it had nothing in its nesting box when it was seized.
Previously, zoo manager Gretchen Mogensen got emotional telling 10 News that a hornbill was seized without its mate, and the birds mate for life.
The last witness testified to the care of some of the agricultural animals like donkeys and sheep.
She said that a broken horn was causing a sheep pain, and that’s why it was seized. She also expressed concerns about chipped hooves.
During cross-examination, the defense brought up reports showing that another vet hired by the state disagreed with those health concerns.
See more coverage below:
- Original story: Search at Natural Bridge Zoo in Rockbridge County