24 year old Christopher Allen slapped a 1 and a half year old camel named Dekar in the rear at the San Francisco Bay Area theme park Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, in Vallejo, CA. The incident was apparently a result of a dare between Allen and a friend.

After slapping the camel, Allen tried to flee the scene, but was detained by park security. Apparently, he again made a getaway when park security were handing him over to police, jumped a 12 foot fence, got into a vehicle waiting for him and took off. Vallejo police were then able to stop and arrest Allen and the driver of the getaway car, Chrissy Thatcher, when they were trying to leave Vallejo. Allen is from Santa Rosa and Thatcher from San Rafael.

AP report via CBS5 quotes park spokeswoman Nancy Chan as saying that “Originally the guy would’ve been cited and released but now has multiple felonies to answer to.” She said causing injury to an animal is a felony but causing only “distress” is a misdemeanor. “How harming an animal can be seen as fun for some people is beyond any of us,” Chan said. “The camel is fine, just a little distressed,” Chan said.

About Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Six Flags is located at 1001 Fairgrounds Dr. Vallejo CA 94589,  30 miles from San Francisco, 25 miles from San Rafael and 45 miles from Santa Rosa. The park is open Friday through Sunday. For general park information, call (707) 643-6722. A general admission daily ticket costs $49.99, but you can purchase an online special for $34.99. The park houses over 30 animal attractions, 197 different species and 1,700+ animals, including zebras, sharks, dolphins, alligators, butterflies, elephants, cheetahs and penguins. More details here. Here’s a list of restaurants at Six Flags, a list of all the rides at the park, and a list of Vallejo, CA hotels.

Posted on May 7th, 2008 by PLing
Filed under: San Francisco