Father, daughter charged with not properly caring for animals at Florida, Virginia zoos

GULF BREEZE, Fla. – Federal officials filed a complaint accusing the owners of a Florida zoo of failing to properly care for the animals.

The charges by the U.S. Department of Agriculture say the 50-acre Gulf Breeze Zoo wasn't properly supervised when a child was bitten by a camel. The tiger enclosure didn't have proper ventilation and other animal enclosures had rusted fences and exposed nails, according to the complaint.

Owner Eric Mogensen and his daughter, Meghan, were charged with multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act at the Gulf Breeze facility, as well as two other facilities they own in Virginia, according to the Florida Daily News (http://tinyurl.com/pyldtqb) .

Emails and a phone message left at the zoo were not immediately returned Sunday.

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Information from: Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.), http://www.nwfdailynews.com