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Fairfax County Police Dept.
Meghan Mogensen, 26, is charged with animal cruelty and possession of a controlled substance.
The director of a private zoo in Reston, Va., was arrested and charged with animal cruelty in connection with the suspicious death of a wallaby, according to Reston police.
Reston Zoo Director Meghan Mogensen, 26, of Silver Spring, Md. was also charged with possession of a controlled substance, police said.
Both charges are class-one misdemeanors, and Mogensen is not currently in detention, according to Eddy Azcarate, a public information officer for the Reston Police District of Fairfax County Police.
The arrest came Friday after what police described as "a complex five-month-long investigation" looked into allegations of improper treatment of injured animals and improper use of euthanasia."
A search warrant filed Feb. 16 in Fairfax County Circuit Court cited an unnamed zoo worker who said he feared the animal had been illegally drowned. The last he had seen the adult wallaby, a species in the same family as the kangaroo, he had placed it in a crate because it was sick and needed veterinary care, according to the warrant, obtained by NBC Washington.
The male employee said he later saw the crate empty and found the wallaby's wet carcass in a nearby trash container, the report said, citing the court document.
WRCs' Jane Watrel describes the investigation that led to the arrest of Reston Zoo director Meghan Mogensen.
Mogensen claimed that she had humanely euthanized the wallaby with an injection of Beuthanasia-D, NBC reported. However, the investigation revealed that the zoo did not have the necessary permits or the training to dispense the drug.
According to its web page, Reston Zoo is a "30-acre, family-friendly zoo and home to a wide variety of exotic animals." The zoo advertises a petting barn and "zoofari wagon rides" around the park. It lists domestic farm animals such as horses, goats and lambs, as well as more exotic creatures such as wildebeest, monkeys, zebras, alligators and a clouded leopard. The site does not list wallabies among its animal exhibits.
According to Patch.com, the zoo is owned by Eric Mogensen, Meghan’s father, who currently owns two other zoos.
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Leave a Comment:
what an a'hole!
And this from a zoo! This place needs to be shut down and those animals need to be rescued! The other zoos they own as well!
Exactly, zoo animals are unable to fend for themselves and rely upon their keepers to take care of them. I say shut them down permanently and send the animals to a rescue facility.
I hate to say it, but that's what nepotism gets ya. The woman's father owned the zoo. Beware organizations practicing nepotism, because your judgement might be a little cloudy when repeatedly hiring spouses, brothers and other close relatives. You know who this is directed to if your organization practices this.
I bet im not the only one who had to google Nepotism...
BTW,
nep·o·tism
[nep-uh-tiz-uh m] Show IPA
noun
patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of familyrelationship, as in business and politics: She was accused ofnepotism when she made her nephew an officer of the firm.
Youre welcome in advance! lmao
Oh for Christ sake!!!! I agree that animal cruelty shouldn't be tolerated, but then animals have rights, but unborn babies don't. In my whole life, I have never seen a woman say I have a fetus inside, all say I have a baby inside. Only when she determines to abort him/her, the baby becomes a "fetus", a "clump of cells", a "parasite" or a "tumor". We cry for animals, but turn our eyes on unborn humans.
Yes, we defend animals, because they don't have VOICE, a human knows whats right and wrong, animals are put in this places without they consent, unfortunately for the unborn child the one with rights is the mother and excuse me , she should know what she is doing...... Animals have no choice but to suffer in silence , here the animals are us HUMANS........
So what have you ever done to save an unborn child besides rant and rave and point the finger Joe? nothing, that's what, you've made none of the personal sacrifice jesus told you to, just accuse and point fingers while patting yourself on the back even though you've never actually helped anyone at all loser.
What on earth does this story have to do with abortion, people on blogs never stick to the subject. Compassion for animals is something you either have or you don't and as mentioned above, animals have no voice. So people like us who care speak for them. Private zoos are havens for animal abusers.
When you can birth a baby, then you have the right to determine what a woman does with her body and her "fetus." Until God gives you that ability, you need to stick to the topic at hand.
NOT the same thing...keep to the topic ok? you can cry all you want about unborn babies, BUT if someone doesn't want to keep a baby because of rape, incestuous whatever....is that ok? or should they be forced to keep it anyway? you can decide that.
I am so tired of every article about animal cruelty and abuse bringing someone ranting about abortion. The article isn't about that, get it? What do you want, people to be cruel to animals or something? It is a whole different matter. Take your soapbox somewhere else will you? There are hundreds of thousands of children starving in this world or being abused and you didn't even bother to mention that did you? Apparently you don't care much about babies after they are born.
Anyone who can be indifferent to the pain of a living being is lacking something. I agree with another post, this place should be shut down and the other 'zoos' owned by the same family looked into very seriously.
OMG....PRJOE is trying to turn this into a debate on abortions.......stay on the subject.
So... you think the women should wait until they are born and then drown them?
No one was discussing unborn babies you idiot!
I'm loving the replies to the "pro-lifer" who like ALL of them are... SHOVING THEIR OPINIONS IN YOUR EAR AGAINST YOUR WILL... **STFU!!!**
You said "Christ's sake" won't your lord be mad that you took his name in vain? GO AWAY! I bet your car is covered with bumper stickers of bloody fetuses.
The 26yr old should have NEVER been given that much power @ a zoo. I'm a 32yr old girl & I would've never been able to handle it. I would've been too busy playing w/the animals!
They should close all those centers of animal abuse...And the Bitch put in jail..This really piss me off. stupid people..........
Privately owned zoos should be shut down and leave this type of career to professionals who know what they're doing. Good grief, when are we going to learn that wild animals need to be in the wild not in captivity. And certainly not in a private zoo or a private home. This is just awful.
While I agree that private zoos need to be either shut down and outlawed or strenously monitored, and it that it would be wonderful if wild animals could remain in the wild. It is also a fact of our current state on planet Earth that in many places the only way for some of these animals to survive as species is in zoos. Therefore we should be making sure that all zoos are of the highest quality, that they have the correct personel working at them to ensure that the animals live long, healthy lives and that animals such as that advertised clouded leopard, (an endangered animal) should be a part of breeding programs to sustain the speicies.
Throw the book at this stupid bitch!!! Id love to kick her ass!!
Wonder how long she can hold her breath under water?
I catch and release nuisance squirrels and chipmunks from my property but I would never think to hurt them.
As a matter of fact, I even catch and release spiders from the house.
But I know of neighbors who drown squirrels and chipmunks because it's too much trouble to drive them a mile or so away like I do.
There is something sinister and seriously wrong with those people.
I feed the squirrels, mostly because I live in the woods so I figure 30 years ago when my house was built (and when I was 7 so don't blame me) their ancestors homes may have been destroyed so the least I can do is feed them and provide nesting sites for them. They are seriously fun to watch and feeding them means I am also feeding the rabbits that come to grab the food the squirrels drop. This year I also have a raccoon that has come to eat a few times, although I stay inside when she shows up. There is also a groundhog nesting under the shed in my neighbors yard which is right on the border of our yard, last year she had babies so we had 4 baby groundhogs eating everything in sight. The neighbor is not a fan of wild animals (I don't know why she moved to the woods); she would stand on her porch and yell at the baby groundhogs things like "Why don't you die already" and "Go away, this is my land". The 4 year old across the street kept asking her mom and I what was wrong with the "crazy lady".
I agree with the 4 year old. Yelling at groundhogs and squirrels is YouTube fodder at best. Just do it and let her see how stupid she looks. Glad you're avoiding the raccoon. I knew some people who would feed a group of them. Once a friend was feeding several of them vanilla wafers and he RAN OUT. The raccoons weren't going anywhere and were circling him. He got away, but, don't mess with raccoons.
Well, I really do not like any kind of rodents, they kinda give me the creeps but I certainly would not hurt them in any way. I just look the other way, simple as that, and go in the house. You don't have to love them to know better than to hurt them.
Unless she has the required degrees and certification, i.e. she's a licensed veterinarian or veterinary technician, she doesn't have the legal right or the training to perform this procedure using Beuthanasia. Legally, she can't purchase the drug, nor can her father unless he is a veterinarian under FDA rules. She needs to be in jail and all of her family's "zoos" investigated for use of illegal drugs and possibly shut down.
Yes, I was going to post exactly this until I read this response. It is literally impossible for her to even acquire a barbituate like that from a veterinary drug supply company or service.
And, I'd like to add, that in many states it is illegal for a vet tech to administer the drug. At least in the state that I went to vet school in, it was only legal for a veterinarian to perform the procedure. A well-trained vet tech can do it just fine, mind you - but it is extremely painful if it is not given intravenously due to mistake or ignorance.
I have a hard time believing this woman had such training in the matter.
Close this so called excuse for a zoo and any others this person has any interest in. Charge her with the applicable crime and call it a day. that wallaby TRUSTED the humans who were supposed to take care of it. That dirt hole is NOT a zoo.
i,d like to see them euthanize this sick bitch.
I second that Donnydz.
26 years old? what kind of experience does someone that young have to be in charge of any living thing, let alone have access to such dangerous drugs? hey listen up out there! just because someone has a degree doesn't mean diddley, some pass with A's, some pass with D's, but they all get degrees.....
this woman needs to feel the full brunt of our legal system on her, because that is all we have to punish her with. Unlike herself, who believes it is ok to take the life of a sentient being, we cannot do that! so I hope she gets a tough sentence, and I say this not only on behalf of all decent people, but because I am a kiwi and lived in Australia and Kangaroos and Wallabies are our animals. I am upset and offended.
O my goodness, where to start? I'd feel better if the @itch was in jail. When I was a child of ten or so, I was forced to watch my Siamese cat being drowned in the toilet for bothering a pet bird. I will never ever ever forget the cats screams it still haunts me to this day, more than forty years later... i consider myself an animal rights person but I know I dont do enough to help. I could never do enough to alleviate the guilt and trauma that I still feel from this incident. This same man (an alcoholic and woman and child abuser) also killed a pet monkey, another cat and several parrots by starvation. This kind of thing is just so sick and twisted that it just tears at my heart. THIS is why we must speak for the animals. It has nothing to do with babies and/or abortion. It is all about compassion for things that have no voice. Poor Kim Kardashion! She is so self absorbed and ridiculous, as anyone is who wears real fur in this day and age. We all have to do what we can for the animals, including watching out for ones left in parked cars and left in yards in the sun with no shelter food or water. It is our moral obligation to call the police and not walk away. God Bless everyone who takes a stand, and I pray to give the others to backbone to do the same.
Hold your water people jeez!
Fry this sick itchba. She is a miserable pice of sh&&t