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More than 100 animals—both living and dead—were seized from a roadside zoo in Virginia, including a tiger that was euthanized, as part of a investigation into animal cruelty allegations by the Virginia attorney general’s office.
The first search warrant executed at the Natural Bridge Zoo in the 5700 block of Lee Highway in Rockbridge County on Wednesday showed that 89 living animals were seized, while another 28 deceased animals were removed, The Roanoke Times reported.
The attorney general’s Animal Law Unit “offers support and prosecution of animal cruelty cases upon request of a local Commonwealth’s Attorney or law enforcement agency,” Victoria LaCivita, a spokesperson for the office of Attorney General Jason Miyares, said in an email to the newspaper.
One of the dead animals taken from the zoo was a white Bengal tiger that had to be euthanized, the newspaper reported.
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“The tiger was euthanized with consent of the owners to humanely end its suffering upon recommendation by the specialist veterinarian following their examination,” LaCivita said.
Mario Williams, an attorney for zoo owner Debbie Mogensen, has questioned the investigation.
“We’re going to challenge the criminal charges, one by one, show us where the neglect was, you got to show us all this stuff,” Williams told WDBJ-TV last week.
Newsweek has contacted Williams, the attorney general’s office and the Virginia State Police for further comment via email.
Police executed a second search warrant at the zoo on Thursday, looking for medications, including “bottles of ketamine and expired gabapentin” in the zoo owner’s residence.
The warrants came after a person who worked at the zoo between March and October became a confidential informant, according to the Times.
That person documented the animals and their habitats while working as a farmhand and groundskeeper at at the zoo, according to court documents.
The informant reported that an elephant at the zoo named Asha was kept in “substandard” living conditions, with the elephant forced to stand and sleep in her own urine, an affidavit said. Asha was chained when unattended and given cold baths, the documents said.
The informant reported that Asha’s keeper, Mark Easley, advised him to get respect from the animals by jabbing them where “bone is close to flesh.”
“I’m not her friend, I’m her boss and you gain respect through fear,” Easley was quoted as saying in affidavits.
The informant also documented issues with other animals, including a zebra that “appeared to have a medical issue with her rear hoof/leg.” The zebra was given expired medication that had been prescribed for another animal, according to the affidavits.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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