By Tyler Rothwell
Two bills inspired by the Natural Bridge Zoo case are heading to the governor’s desk. If signed into law, they would prohibit the premature separation and breeding of two different wild mammals at zoos.
Senate Bill 344, introduced by Sen. Jennifer Boysko and House Bill 112, introduced by Del. Amy Laufer, have passed through both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly. Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who took office in January, has not said if she will sign them.
“We’ve been working for several years to stop the abuse and exploitation of animals in unaccredited zoo settings that sells babies for massive profits,” said Boysko, a Democrat representing the Reston area.
The sponsors say their bills, which are identical, are meant to increase the regulation of roadside zoos and clarify rules for proper treatment of animals.
“HB 112 will eliminate bad actors in this field and establish a clear foundation for proper animal care and treatment,” said Laufer, a Democrat representing parts of Albemarle County.
Similar legislation sponsored by Boysko was vetoed in 2025 by then-governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican.
“I do not believe it is appropriate to establish precedent-setting policy to address the actions of a single bad actor,” Youngkin wrote in a statement outlining his veto. He also said he did not believe in extending the workload of the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR).
“Although DWR has indicated it could absorb the workload, doing so would divert critical resources away from its primary conservation and wildlife management duties,” Youngkin wrote.
If the legislation is signed, the DWR would be the main policing body to make sure zoos across Virginia are complying with the laws.
Bills criticized by roadside zoos
Fort Chiswell Animal Park in Max Meadows is urging people to call and email Spanberger’s office, hoping the governor will veto both bills.
Heidi Crosky, the park’s manager, formed the Virginia Owners Animal Alliance in response to the Virginia Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit, which seized 100 animals from the Natural Bridge Zoo in 2023.
Crosky said Fort Chiswell Animal Park uses bottle feeding for many of their animals, a practice that would have to be stopped if the legislation is signed into law.
The legislation also states that baby animals would need to stay with their mothers until the age of four.
Crosky said she is also concerned about how officers within the animal law unit will determine hybridization and what will happen to the animals if they believe the breeding was intentional.
A visual inspection of coat color and morphology would be the primary method of determining if hybridization has taken place, said Aaron Proctor, the DWR policy manager. If babies are discovered to be a hybrid, the animal law unit would treat them on a case-by-case basis.
A message left by the Rockbridge Report for Michelle Welch, director of the animal law unit, was not returned this week.
The Natural Bridge Zoo case is a main reason for why the bills have gained the traction they have, said Daphna Nachminovitch, senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
“At unaccredited roadside menageries like the Natural Bridge Zoo, infant animals are prematurely separated from their mothers when they’re only days, weeks or even hours old so that they can be sold off and shipped out,” Nachminovitch said.
Local roadside zoo owners face legal battles
The former owners of the Natural Bridge Zoo, Karl and Deborah Mogensen, were indicted by a Rockbridge County grand jury last month, along with current owner Gretchen Mogensen, on over 50 charges of animal cruelty and forging public records. Their attorney has not commented.
Zoos across Virginia that currently have the same practices as Fort Chiswell Animal Park would be forced to change as well.
Eric Mogensen is the CEO of Zoofari Parks, a company that owns and operates four major zoos across the country – Virginia Safari Park, Alabama Safari Park, Gulf Breeze Zoo in Florida and Texas Zoofari Park. He is the son of Karl Mogensen.
In 2018, Eric Mogensen had to deal with legal troubles in connection to the Virginia Safari Park. Mogensen and his daughter Meghan Mogensen were fined based upon reports of abuse at zoos operated by Eric Mogensen.
Eric and Meghan Mogensen were jointly assessed a civil penalty of $99,000, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Reston Zoo closed in 2016 following the accusations of abuse and was bought and rebranded as NOVA Wild by Tara Campbell Lussier in 2022.
According to PETA, the three roadside zoos that were found to have abuse were the Virginia Safari Park, Reston Zoo and Gulf Breeze Zoo in Texas.
A message left with the Gulf Breeze Zoo by the Rockbridge Report was not immediately returned.
“It should come as no surprise that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) needed 18 pages to document the abuses perpetuated at the three roadside zoos operated by Eric Mogensen,” PETA said in a press release.
Messages left for Eric Mogensen by the Rockbridge Report were not returned.
Calls to the Mogensens’ attorneys rang unanswered and messages could not be left by the Rockbridge Report.