KILN – A sheriff”s deputy in southern Mississippi used a stun gun on a pet camel after authorities say the animal attacked a motorist”s car and then turned on the deputy.
The incident last month began when a woman driving by the property tried to alert the owner that the camel had gotten out of its fence.
“The camel got on her car. She was, of course, concerned. She called 911,” Hancock County Sheriff”s Department Maj. Bobby Underwood said. “Deputy Ed Merwin arrived and tried to throw his arms up and frighten the camel away, and the camel started at him.”
At that point, Underwood said Merwin stunned the animal, an Arabian single hump camel named Boudreaux.
Underwood said that in 42 years of law enforcement he”s never had to deal with a camel problem.
Donna Berdine, who keeps the camel on her farm near Kiln, said the camel is usually docile. Besides the camel, Berdine has two kangaroos, a zebra and 16 horses roaming her farm.
“I”ve been told the camel is really gentle. I don”t know what got him fired up. We are going to continue to monitor the situation,” Underwood said.
Berdine say the 3-year-old camel still exhibits “baby exuberance.”
“And when they get excited, they will bounce around, it”s a front and back motion,” Berdine said. “We have a large tractor and from day one he would look in and see his image and think it was his mother, and he wants to lay next to them. And I have no doubt when he got out onto the road, the lady pulled in to be helpful, he just got excited. Well, it scared her.”
Berdine said she has offered to pay for the damage to the car, which suffered several scratches. Berdine said she has owned the camel since he was three months old.
She said she often allows people to get an up close look at her exotic pets. She”s even taken some of them to schools.
Hancock County has no laws governing exotic animals; however, Berdine said she is regulated by the state. She often receives routine visits from state inspectors.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.