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Testimony in the hearing that will determine whether the 95 animals seized from the Natural Bridge Zoo in December will be forfeited to the state closed last week.
No ruling was issued on the final day of the hearing on Wednesday. Attorneys for the state and the zoo’s owners, Karl and Debbie Mogensen, were instructed to submit their closing arguments in writing, and a ruling is expected later this week.
On Dec 20, the Virginia Attorney General’s Office called a number of witnesses to testify that conditions at the zoo were a “direct and immediate threat” to the health of the animals seized on Dec 6 and 7.
The hearing resumed on the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan 9, when Dr. Ernesto Dominguez, lead veterinarian on the raid, testified.
As Mario Williams, attorney for the Mogensens, reminded the judge in his opening remarks, the burden of proof in this case rests on the state, which will need to show “beyond reasonable doubt” that the animals were being mistreated.
Attorneys for the Mogensens sought to introduce reasonable doubt last Wednesday, bringing in evidence and witnesses, including Gretchen Mogensen, zoo manager, to speak to the health of the animals.
One of the witnesses called in the zoo’s defense was Peter Brewer, who was qualified as an expert on primates based on his experience as a veterinarian and in running his own zoo in Massachusetts.
Brewer was asked to testify to the condition of primates seized from the zoo, including Capuchin and Gibbon monkeys, several types of lemurs, and a number of other small primates.
He spoke favorably of the zoo’s decision to move monkeys from their exhibits during cold weather, but admitted to the difficulty of replicating a natural environment indoors.
Though he did not observe or examine any of the animals in person, he said was shown photos and some veterinary records.
While he was unable to speak to enrichment, he said that the habitats were sufficient for the animals, and that the feed schedule was also acceptable, based on body condition reports from the vet records.
Based on what he reviewed, Brewer said he “didn’t see anything out of line,” in Natural Bridge Zoos’ primate program.
William Penatino, who runs a private bird sanctuary in Florida, qualified to speak as an expert in avian care.
He also did not examine any of the zoo’s birds in person, but saw pictures and veterinary reports. He also visited the zoo in late December and reviewed the habitats and feed schedules and spoke with keepers.
As witnesses for the state testified earlier, two of the birds seized had malformed beaks, which Penatino said did not concern him, as the birds still seemed able to feed themselves.
In his testimony last Tuesday, Dominguez, the lead veterinarian for the state, said that the condition of the habitats on the morning of Dec 6 was part of what led to the decision to seize the birds, several of which were given “emergency care” in the form of subcutaneous fluids.
Based on his visit to the zoo, Penatino said Wednesday that the habitats and food schedules for the parrots, Macaws and Kookaburra seized were sufficient, and that he had not, overall, seen any evidence of cruel or inadequate care.
Ben Alfieri, who formerly managed several zoos and currently runs an animal transport business, qualified as a reptile and amphibian expert.
He testified that the building that housed tortoises, monkeys, and several species of birds was not out of the ordinary for zoos, that multiple species are often housed in close quarters, but that, “It’s important to determine, is everyone here healthy? Issues spread fast in these spaces, so vet checks, maybe three or four times a year, are important.”
Dominguez, in his earlier testimony, said that algae had spread from the tortoises’ water into the tortoises themselves, and that he was concerned about the effects of the ammonia smell on the respiratory systems of birds housed in the building.
When asked if he observed any evidence of cruel or inadequate care, Alfieri said “absolutely not.”
Alfieri was also unable to examine any of the reptiles that had been seized; his testimony was based on pictures and documentation, as well as his observations of habitats at the zoo.
Dominguez had noted heat mats in the reptile enclosures as a concern, saying that they were kept at a temperature high enough to harm the animals.
Alfieri, when asked, said that the temperatures were not concerning, and neither was the condition of the python habitats, which state witnesses had said were dirty and did not have sufficient water.
He was also asked about the tortoises seized, over a dozen from three species.
The tortoises were healthy, according to reports, and their body conditions were at or near ideal, Alfieri said, which “speaks to the health of the animals, tells you things are being done right.” -A significant portion of testimony on the first day of the hearing in December centered on the four giraffes at the zoo, which were not seized, due to the difficulty of transporting them.
Liza Dadone, a veterinarian whose work has focused on captive giraffe for over a decade, was called as an expert witness on behalf of the zoo last Wednesday.
Dadone testified that she had made multiple visits to the Natural Bridge Zoo in early January to evaluate the animals and their habitats.
In her observations, she noted that all four of the giraffes seemed capable of basic mobility: lying down and standing up at will, walking around their enclosure without evident pain.
“None of them were showing major gait abnormalities,” she said, and though all were at an age when some level of arthritis could be expected, “They weren’t showing any significant pain.”
Overall, she observed, “No clinical impact or welfare concerns based on how they’re moving around.”
When later cross-examined by Michelle Welch, head of the Animal Law Unit of the attorney general’s office, Dadone said she was unaware of pain medications that may have been prescribed to the animals and which may have affected these observations.
Though state expert witnesses on the first day of the hearing in December testified to the lack of enrichment in the giraffe barn, Dadone said that, at the time of her visit, several enrichment items were in use, and that the barn was well-ventilated.
She also found the feed to be sufficient, saying that “diet isn’t one size fits all,” and that the giraffes were all within an acceptable weight range.
Hoof care is an issue that has become central in determining the welfare the giraffes at Natural Bridge Zoo, and has featured prominently in testimony on both sides.
In December, Amy Phelps, assistant zoological manager at the Oakland zoo who qualified as a giraffe expert, noted overgrown hooves on at least two of the giraffes, which she said were causing current pain and adding stress that could lead to future joint damage.
Dadone noted “mild to moderate” hoof overgrowth on some of the giraffes in her assessments, and, though she recommended regular trims as part of the zoo’s management plan going forward, did not feel it was a health risk at this time.
Phelps also noted concerns about the zoo’s breeding program, both how frequently the female giraffes were breed and how quickly the calves were taken away.
Dadone, when asked by Welch, said she was unaware of either the breeding schedule or the zoo’s policies on bottle-raising and shipping calves.
Also during cross-examination, she said she was not aware of the dead animals seized from the zoo’s freezer, including a giraffe head, two giraffe tails and three legs. She was, however, unconcerned about what she called “bio-artifacts,” saying it is common for zoos to keep specimens.
Overall, Dadone said, she didn’t see anything that suggested inadequate care of the giraffes. -The attorney general’s office and Natural Bridge Zoo also called agricultural animal experts to testify on the two donkeys, three lamas, one sheep, and one dog seized from the zoo.
Last Tuesday, Samantha Moffit was called as a state witness. She said she had been “conservative” in her judgments of what animals should be seized, and explained her concerns about those that were taken: one donkey had an injury to its head and leakage around its eye, the sheep had a turned-in horn that appeared to be causing pain.
Two llamas were taken, of a group of more than a dozen, because they were notably smaller than the rest. Moffit was also worried about competition for resources due to the number of animals in the habitat.
She also expressed concern about the habitat of the other donkey, and said that the dog was kept outside, without adequate shelter as required by Virginia law.
On Wednesday, attorneys for the zoo called Corrie Connolly, who had observed pictures of the animals and their habitats, as well as veterinary records.
Based on the photos, she believed that the habitats for all animals were adequate, and did not have any major concerns about the information in the veterinary reports. -Also on Wednesday, Gretchen Mogensen, who manages day-to-day operations at the zoo, was called to testify.
Mogensen identified feed receipts and treatment sheets, which were entered as evidence, and explained the feeding and care schedules for the animals seized. She said the areas animals were seized from were “winter quarters,” used during the zoo’s off season.
In his earlier testimony, Dominguez had said that the exhibits, or public-facing portions of the zoo, were mostly well-kept, and that most of the issues were seen in areas of the zoo not accessible to visitors.
Mogensen said the habitats in the monkey, bird, and tortoise building were cleaned every day, while the other buildings where birds were seized were cleaned less frequently, mostly due to concerns about opening the habitats in cold weather.
She testified that police were already at the zoo when she arrived on the morning of Dec 6, and that the animals and habitats they encountered had not been cleaned since the previous evening.
Mogensen said that keepers were not allowed into the zoo to make their daily rounds until after 2 o’clock, and even then were limited in the time they were allowed to spend with the animals and in which parts of the zoo they could access, as state troopers accompanied them on their rounds.
In December, Amy Taylor, testifying as a state witness and who was present during the raid, said that though employees were stopped by law enforcement at the entrance to the zoo, they were allowed in, one by one, between 9:30 a.m. and noon.
In her cross-examination, Welch asked if the zoo had been tipped off that the police were coming, quoting Mogensen as having said, “They’re already here.”
Following an objection from the Mogensen attorneys, the judge ruled that this question would not be allowed, as it was irrelevant to the issue of the hearing.
Welch’s question about Asha, the zoo’s elephant, was also ruled out of scope of the hearing. Though treatment of Asha featured significantly in the original search warrants, the elephant was not seized, as she was not on the property when officials arrived on Dec. 6.
According to a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection filed with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and signed by Ashley Spenser, the zoo’s on-call veterinarian, on Nov 25, Asha was shipped from the Natural Bridge Zoo to Two Tails Ranch, a privately owned elephant facility in Florida.
The attorneys also clashed about one of the birds seized from the zoo, which Mogensen said was part of a breeding pair that have been together for many years, and which was split when the male bird was confiscated.
Welch, referencing earlier testimony, said that the bird was alone in the habitat when it was seized. -Attorneys for the state and for the Mogensens submitted their closing arguments, in writing, to the judge by Friday evening. The judge will review these along with evidence, and will issue a ruling by the end of this week.
As the case is a civic forfeiture hearing, no criminal charges have been filed. The judge’s ruling will determine whether ownership of the animals currently in state custody will be transferred to the state, or if the animals will be returned to Natural Bridge Zoo.
