Help Save Natural Bridge Zoo

HELP THE MOGENSEN FAMILY SAVE THEIR ANIMALS AND THEIR ZOO!

The Mogensen family has owned and operated Natural Bridge Zoo since 1972. They have been a target of anti-ownership groups for years due to the type of species they exhibited including Asha the Elephant and Zeus the Tiger. The facility is and has been licensed and permitted by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to exhibit wildlife in the State of Virginia, along with being licensed and inspected by the federal agency known as USDA APHIS Animal Care. However, Virginia has the FIRST Animal Law Unit in the nation and THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE THE SOLE AUTHORITIES ON ANIMAL CARE. THEY HAVE NO OVERSIGHT WHATSOEVER.

On December 6 & 7, 2023, Virginia's Animal Law Unit (which is directed by animal extremist Michelle Welch) raided the Natural Bridge Zoo as well as the personal home of Karl and Debbie. Later that same week, Karl and Debbie were served papers in the care facility where Karl is hospitalized and stripped of their phones. The raid has put a tremendous emotional strain on Karl and the entire family. They are being painted by many in the media as monsters. Nothing could be further from the truth.

When Gretchen Mogensen spoke to local news reporters shortly after the raid of the zoo, she explained Zeus was under vet care (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY_RCE26LaQ). On the first day of the raid, the raiding team decided they were going to euthanize Zeus. Gretchen stated she could have injected him calmly by hand and it would have taken 5 minutes. However, this was not permitted. One of the vets with the raid team used a pole syringe and jabbed Zeus repetitively. Gretchen described how she tried to distract Zeus. She was emotional explaining how she had to betray him in his final moments. Gretchen told the media how scared Zeus was and how he was "freaking out" and "yelling" throughout the ordeal. Once Zeus could no longer rise, Gretchen went back inside with him and held him while he died. At that point, Zeus was trying to vomit and Gretchen kept asking the raid vets to hurry.

COURT TESTIMONY ON DECEMBER 20, 2023 REVEALED ZEUS WAS JABBED AT LEAST 5 TIMES AND SUFFERED FOR 48 MINUTES!

THE NUMBER OF ATTEMPTS AND EXTENSIVE AMOUNT OF TIME BEFORE DEATH PROVE THE ANIMAL LAW UNIT IS COMPLETELY UNFIT FOR THE POSITION OF POWER THEY HOLD.

The fact that the Office of Jason Miyares and animal rights activists are defending and condoning these actions is absolutely disgusting and repulsive. It shows their allegiance is NOT with the animals. The fact that Zeus had cancer IN NO WAY JUSTIFIES the torture and death that he suffered. Animals and humans battle cancer every day all around the world. This doesn't mean they should immediately be killed. Zeus was under vet care. THE RAID TEAM HAD NO RIGHT TO "PLAY GOD" AND END HIS LIFE SIMPLY BECAUSE THEY WERE ON ZOO PROPERTY.

Gretchen asked to be able to keep Zeus' body to bury him at home. Her request was denied. There has been no independent necropsy. What happened to his body? How will this death be used to orchestrate CRIMINAL charges against the Mogensen family?

It is too late to save Zeus, but the fate of so many other animals still hangs in the balance..

Exotic animals are considered COMPANION animals under Virginia law, which means that NO PAPER TRAIL IS REQUIRED. Zoo animals can simply disappear into thin air after a raid. The Mogensens and the public are supposed to trust that the Animal Law Unit (in spite of their obvious incompetence) and their "rescue" partners have the skills required to care for this array of species. No questions are to be asked.

THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IF ANY ANIMAL BECOMES SICK WHILE IN THE CARE OF THE RAID TEAM OR THEIR PARTNERS THERE IS A STRONG PROBABILITY THE ANIMAL WILL BE EUTHANIZED AND THE MOGENSENS WILL BE CRIMINALLY CHARGED.

THIS IS COMPLETELY UNFAIR TO THE ANIMALS AND THE MOGENSEN FAMILY!

The portrayal by "investigators" about the zoo's "animal body parts" exposes the Animal Law Unit for what it REALLY is--the powerful arm of the animal rights movement. It is a common practice in zoos to keep deceased animals for feeding and enrichment--especially for big cats. It is a common practice to keep deceased animals for taxidermy. In Virginia, zoos that exhibit deer are REQUIRED to preserve the head and a portion of the neck when the animal passes away for CWD monitoring. There is nothing nefarious about having a dead animal at a zoo. To many animal rights activists, however, taxidermy is cruel and leather is murder. Zoos themselves are inhumane. This same ideology drives Virginia's Animal Unit.

It is worth noting that the morning of the raid, PETA released a statement to the media and thanked the Office of the Attorney General for "...executing an investigative search warrant..." On December 20th, Daphna Nachminovitch of PETA spent the day at the Mogensen hearing. This is proof this radical group has a vested interest in this case.

On December 8, 2023, Gretchen Mogensen posted on her Facebook page:

"I know we will be attacked and slandered but I hope we will also be understood and empathized with. Moving forward will be an immense mental and even more financial challenge. I do not know if we will survive as a facility or if we will fall at the cruel hands that have sought to bring us down."

The Mogensen family is in the fight of their lives. They are battling a corrupt system in Virginia that is directly connected to the most powerful anti-ownership groups in the world. The Animal Law Unit has already taken many of their animals (including breeding colonies) and now has their sights fixed on the valuable giraffe. It will take thousands of dollars in legal fees for the Mogensens to prove their innocence and win their animals back. Their success or failure against Michelle Welch and her unit has implications for EVERY animal owner in America. If you love your animals and never want to experience the horror of having them ripped away from you by corrupt government officials, please help the Mogensen family. They are fighting for all of us.