More than two years ago, the parents of a 2-year-old girl that had part of her finger nearly bitten off by a bird at the Baton Rouge Zoo filed a lawsuit suit against BREC, the owner and operator of the wildlife park.
Attorneys for the Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, or BREC, have denied the negligence claims in an answer to the petition filed by plaintiffs Jessi and Urian “Ryan” Clements. But activity in the case file remained largely dormant until earlier this month, when BREC motioned for the lawsuit to be dismissed for lack of evidence.
In a series of July 8 filings, BREC attorneys argued the park commission should not be held liable because the bird showed no signs of threatening or dangerous behavior before attacking the toddler the afternoon of Jan. 26, 2022. James Raines, BREC’s Baton Rouge attorney, said there’s no evidence the Victoria crowned pigeon posed an “unreasonable risk of harm” or that BREC should’ve had prior knowledge that the bird could be dangerous or aggressive and failed to take action to protect park goers…