Jury reaches a verdict in Natural Bridge Zoo case

Anna McDougall
·2 min read

ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) — A jury in Rockbridge County has reached a verdict on an animal cruelty case involving Natural Bridge Zoo after more than 10 hours of deliberation on March 4.

The jury ruled that the state was justified in seizing 100 animals from the zoo on Dec. 6, 2023. The decision came in just before midnight and revealed that 71 animals will go into state custody and 29 will be returned to the zoo. Here is a full list of animals:

  • 71 animals returned to the state:

  • 12 White Capuchins

  • 5 Brown Capuchins

  • 6 cotton top tamarins

  • 1 female gibbon

  • 3 ground hornbills

  • 14 macaws

  • 1 green Burmese python

  • 5 red ear sliders

  • 1 Painted Turtle

  • 1 Skink

  • 14 Tortoises

  • 1 Mini Donkey

  • 1 Dog (Kuvasz Type)

  • 4 giraffes

  • 2 Ball pythons

Defense begins testimony in Natural Bridge Zoo case

Here is a list of 29 animals to be returned to the zoo:

  • 2 Red Ruffed Lemurs

  • 3 Black and White Lemurs

  • 6 Ring-Tailed Lemurs

  • 1 Male gibbon

  • 2 sacred ibiss

  • A kookaburra

  • 1 Macaw

  • 4 Amazon Parrots

  • 2 Pink Grey Cockatoos

  • A Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

  • A Serval

  • 1 albino python

  • 1 Donkey

  • 2 Llamas

  • A Sheep

“This isn’t pulling back the curtain and showing you how the zoo is actually managed. If they wanted to do that, they would have come at noon. If they wanted to do that, they would have come when the animals were at their normal exhibits,” shared Erin Harrigan, the Defense Attorney.

“I ask you to come back and give Rockbridge County these animals. They have been cared for in the last two months more than they ever were at Natural Bridge Zoo,” concluded Michelle Welch, the Senior Assistant Attorney General.

The prosecution needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that each animal was subject to cruel treatment or inadequate care that was causing an immediate threat to the animal’s life safety or health.

A post-trial motions hearing will be held on April 4 at 2 p.m.

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