A California mom has filed a lawsuit after saying county and District officials slaughtered her daughters pet goat.
Fox News reports that the womans daughter originally put the goat up for auction, but she had second thoughts about it. She regretted the decision and wanted to rescue the goat instead. However, county officials went forward with the slaughter and barbecuing of the goat instead.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Jessica Long purchased the goat in April 2022 for her 9-year-old daughter as part of the youth agricultural 4-H program. Her daughter grew attached to the goat and named it Cedar.
Typically, animals purchased through this program are slated to be sold at the Shasta District Fairs livestock auction and used for meat. However, Longs daughter decided she wanted her goat back rather than have it sold to auction, where it would be eaten. Her mother's lawsuit says that auction officials refused to honor a request to have the goat back after Longs daughter decided she would prefer to have it back.
Long stole the goat to get it back for her daughter, and there was a search by law enforcement officials that spanned more than 500 miles, according to the lawsuit.
Longs daughter fed the goat daily and treated it like a pet. She ultimately decided she did not want to sell the goat to the auction house and pleaded to get it back. However, those pleas fell on deaf ears, and the auction refused to give her the goat back.
My daughter sobbed in her pen with her goat, Longs mother wrote to the Shasta County fairs manager last June. She continued, saying, 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.
The Sacramento Bee reports that the goats meat was sold to a buyer for $902 to a buyer representing Republican California state Sen. Brian Dahle, a farmer and small businessman in Northern California.
Most of the money from the sale goes to the goats owners, but Long is unhappy that her daughters goat was slaughtered like this and that the auction refused to honor her request to take the goat back.
The lawsuit alleges that two sheriffs deputies left their jurisdiction in Shasta County, drove over 500 miles at taxpayer expense, and crossed approximately six separate county lines, all to confiscate a young girls beloved pet goat.
It will be an interesting case to watch play out.
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