Two of the animals seized by Virginia law enforcement from the Natural Bridge Zoo in December have died, according to testimony Wednesday in the third day of a jury trial to determine whether the state can seize animals from the Rockbridge County attraction.
One of the two gibbons and the blue-tongued skink taken away from the zoo died in their new homes over the past month. Both animals received veterinary care while in state custody, according to documents referenced in testimony. Details of the animals’ deaths came out during Ernesto Dominguez’s time on the witness stand; he was the lead veterinarian in the state raid, which took place Dec. 6-7.
The male gibbon died at the Metro Richmond Zoo. The necropsy report on the primate revealed a chronic heart issue that, combined with the animal’s age, resulted in its death. The exact cause and date of the death were not stated. The skink, an animal native to Australia, also died as a result of complications, Dominguez read from its necropsy report. It died Jan. 15, six weeks after it was taken from Natural Bridge Zoo, but testimony did not reveal its location at the time.
Wednesday was the third day of proceedings in the civil trial in Rockbridge County Circuit Court. The government persisted with its case against Karl and Debbie Mogensen, the roadside zoo’s owners accused by the county of animal abuse and neglect. A jury will determine who will have custody of the 98 surviving animals.
This week’s trial represents an appeal of a lower court’s January decision that 39 of the 95 animals originally seized must be returned to the zoo. (The state did not take possession of four giraffes, saying there was no way to transport them, and one of the capuchin monkeys seized later gave birth in custody.) Both the county’s and the zoo’s attorneys appealed that ruling.
Wednesday’s hearing began on a contentious note surrounding the zoo’s subpoena of documents from Powhatan County, where the search warrant for the December raid was issued. On the phone from the bench, Judge Christopher Russell told Powhatan Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Cerullo that the documents should be produced. Cerullo was hesitant to provide them, contending that Powhatan County was not party to the suit.
The documents apparently center on Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Christine Boczar’s involvement in the investigation and raid. Boczar testified Tuesday, telling the jury about her two undercover visits to the zoo and recounting her memory of the December raid. The zoo contended that Boczar was operating on behalf of the nonprofit Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force, not as a law enforcement officer.
“Was she a police officer that day or not?” Erin Harrigan, the Mogensens’ attorney, asked the court.
The special prosecutor in the case, Senior Assistant Attorney General Michelle Welch, described the Virginia Animal Fighting Task Force as “a loose group of experts who go in and help” with cases such as the one at hand.
“She was acting under Virginia State Police’s authority,” Welch contended.
Russell gave Cerullo until 4 p.m. to produce the subpoenaed documents.
“If I don’t get [the documents],” Russell told the commonwealth’s attorney on the phone in front of the court, with the jury out of the room. “I expect you in court tomorrow at 8:30 in the morning.”
Cerullo sent the requested information in the early afternoon, attorneys said.
Another subpoena issued by the zoo’s attorneys, this one for documents from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, was quashed by the court after the organization’s attorney argued First Amendment protection for the animal rights organization and that PETA was a non-party to the suit. According to courtroom discussion, the documents pertain to Asha the elephant, which was not at the zoo at the time of the raid and was not seized by law enforcement. The zoo owners had moved the elephant to a wildlife facility in Florida prior to the raid, The Roanoke Times reported last month.
Nearly all 10 hours of Wednesday’s proceedings involved testimony from a pair of veterinarians called by the government as it continued to make its case. Valerie Johnson, a Michigan-based vet who assisted law enforcement in the raid, testified mostly about the Dec. 6 euthanization of a white tiger, Zeus, during the raid. She said that Zeus appeared unhealthy and in pain at the time and that authorities gave zoo manager Gretchen Mogensen, Karl Mogensen’s daughter, a choice between euthanizing the animal or allowing the state to seize it in order to treat it. Gretchen Mogensen opted for the euthanasia, noting that she had been having discussions with zoo veterinarian Ashley Spencer about the animal prior to the raid, Johnson testified.
“I suspected that the tiger had cancer,” Johnson said, a hunch that proved true after a necropsy.
Testimony from Dominguez, the lead veterinarian in the December raid, took the remainder of the day.
The Richmond-based vet described filthy and inadequate habitats, untreated medical conditions and poor husbandry around many of the zoo’s facilities.
“The birds were defecating, urinating and throwing scraps of food into the tortoises’ enclosure,” Dominguez said of one of the buildings where animals were housed.
Welch guided Dominguez through his inspection of the zoo animals during the raid, stopping at each instance of seizure to have the vet outline the threats to the animals’ health and safety.
Harrigan and Cook asked why Dominguez did not consult zoo employees or Spencer, the zoo veterinarian who was present during the raid, about the animals’ conditions when making his decisions on which should be taken.
“You had the treating veterinarian on scene … but you chose not to ask her about any of those animals,” Harrigan said.
Dominguez contended that the final decision on seizure belonged to law enforcement and that he was only present to provide suggestions as an expert. His testimony wrapped up shortly after 6 p.m.
Afterward, Russell noted his concern about how long testimony was taking. The trial originally was scheduled for four days and was to wrap up Thursday. At its current pace, it will almost certainly continue past Friday.
Government witness testimony will continue at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.