A California woman is suing county officials and a district fair for allegedly slaughtering and barbecuing her daughter’s beloved goat following a rescue attempt she made after her daughter regretted putting the pet up for auction.
Jessica Long had purchased the goat named Cedar in April 2022 for her 9-year-old daughter as part of a youth agricultural 4-H program, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Animals purchased as part of the program are typically slated to be sold at the Shasta District Fair’s livestock auction for meat, though Long’s daughter decided she wanted him back. Fair officials refused Long’s entreaties to keep the goat despite her offer to offset the costs, according to the lawsuit that was filed in August and amended last month.
Long then stole the goat, setting off a search involving law enforcement that spanned six counties and 500 miles, the suit claims.
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Long’s daughter, who fed Cedar every day and came to care for him like a pet, reportedly had a change of heart before bidding began and decided she wanted to keep the goat, but fair officials said allowing her to take Cedar back would go against the rules.
“My daughter sobbed in her pen with her goat,” Long wrote to the Shasta County fair’s manager last June. “The barn was mostly empty and at the last minute I decided to break the rules and take the goat that night and deal with the consequences later.”
According to the Sacramento Bee, Cedar’s meat was sold on June 25 for $902 to a buyer representing Republican California state Sen. Brian Dahle, who is also a farmer and small business owner in the northern part of the state.
Of the $902 paid for Cedar, $63.14 was to go to the state fair while the remaining $838.86 was allotted to the goat’s owners.
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When Long reached out to Dahle, his office reportedly told her that he would…
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