Alicia Silverstone offers reward for return of missing giraffes

Alicia Silverstone has offered a $50,000 reward for the return of two baby giraffes who went missing earlier this year.

Alicia Silverstone has offered a $50,000 reward for the return of two missing giraffes.

The Clueless actress has appealed for people with any information to come forward after two calves disappeared from the Natural Bridge Zoo in Virginia in April amid ongoing allegations of animal cruelty.

Alicia said in a statement issued by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): “Tearing babies away from their distraught mothers is devastating for both, no matter what species they are.

“These missing babies need specialised care, and every day counts in finding them, so I hope someone with information about their whereabouts will come forward now.”

Back in December 2023, the Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit seized around 100 animals from the facility due to concerns including sick animals denied treatment, other creatures kept in filth and dozens of dead bodies and parts on the property.

In March 2024, after the county needed to prove each creature had suffered deliberate cruelty or a level of deprivation which posed “direct and immediate threat to the animal’s life, health or safety”, a judge ruled 71 of the animals would remain in the government’s custody.

But 29 remaining animals – including 11 lemurs, a pack of sheep, an albino Burmese python, giraffes, llamas and a donkey – were returned to the zoo.

Two of the four adult giraffes which stayed at the zoo during the seizure were pregnant and while the facility was required to notify the state when the calves were born, it never happened.

Public records showed the zoo had a history of separating baby giraffes from their mothers prematirely, with at least 14 calves being shipped out over the previous decade.

Co-owner Gretchen Mogensen 1 is serving 100 days in jail after refusing to comply with a court order requiring her to disclose the calves’ whereabouts. She is expected to be released in February 2026.

Anyone with information about the missing giraffe babies is urged to contact the Virginia Office of the Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit.