NATURAL BRIDGE, Va. – Natural Bridge Zoo’s owners appeared in court on Monday afternoon for continued post-trial motions, following a decision in March that found the state was justified in seizing 71 of the 100 animals they took during a search last December.
On Monday, the defense revealed that two of the four giraffes at Natural Bridge Zoo are pregnant.
The county was awarded the animals during the trial, but they haven’t been moved due to the planning needed to move such a large animal.
However, there will be further delays with that as the county must confirm their pregnancy.
“They want to keep the giraffes there so they can profit on the babies,” prosecutor Michelle Welch said during Monday’s hearing.
The defense argued that the babies should not go into the county’s custody.
“Those offspring were not subject to the conditions the county complained about on the day of seizure,” Erin Harrigan, a member of the defense team, said.
The judge ordered that the zoo should not have contact with anyone transporting the giraffes after Welch said owner Karl Mogensen threatened a giraffe handler.
The judge set an appeal bond of $200,000. That’s the amount of money the owners, Karl and Debbie Mogensen, will have to pay for boarding animals since December.
The decision will play a role in whether former zoo owners decide to appeal the case a second time. Each side argued how much zoo owners should have to pay for the reasonable cost of care for animals seized.
“They chose to go with a facility that’s going to charge $24,000 doesn’t mean it’s reasonable when the Virginia facility would be charging $3,600 to care for these animals,” Harrigan said.
The judge has yet to determine the amount.
“They keep saying that we should have gone to get other more cheap places to put them and that’s just not the way the world works,” Welch said. “You have to work with rescue partners who are willing to help you.”
The hearing marks the first court appearance since the zoo re-opened on Memorial Day weekend. It was re-opened by the former zoo owners’ children. However, prosecutors said in court that the transfer of ownership has not been made official yet.
Post-trial motions continue on October 2 at 1 p.m.