Bizarre Suit Cites Camel Attack at Jefferson Davis Home

Yes, a camel at the Confederate president's last house
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 14, 2017 2:25 PM CDT
Woman Sues Over Camel Attack at Jefferson Davis Home
A statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis is seen at Beauvoir House, Jefferson Davis' historic home, in Biloxi, Miss.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

It's about as odd a lawsuit as you'll run across: A Florida woman claims a camel at the last home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis attacked her at the tourist attraction in Biloxi, Miss., in 2015. She's suing the United Sons of Confederate Veterans Inc., identified as the operator of Beauvoir plantation in Biloxi. Sylvia June Abbott says Sir Camelot injured her mentally and physically, reports the AP. "June was basically just walking across the grounds and this camel charged at her, stampeded her, and ended up biting her," attorney Charles Thomas tells the Sun Herald. "It’s kind of ridiculous to think there are aggressive animals walking around on the property where this sort of thing can happen."

Abbott's wrist was fractured, as well as a vertebra. Abbott's suit says Beauvoir's operators should have known the camel had "behaved dangerously" in the past, though it didn't specify any prior incidents. Beauvoir's executive director, Tom Payne, didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment. But Beauvoir's employees say Sir Camelot is harmless, though he is fond of caffeine. As the Sun Herald puts it, "The camel loves Dr. Pepper and coffee and, yes, he is not above swiping a drink." (More Jefferson Davis stories.)

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