A woman has filed a lawsuit against a California county and its district fair on behalf of her daughter, whose pet goat was sold for $902 before being slaughtered and barbecued.
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Jessica Long’s family purchased Cedar, a seven-month-old white Boer goat, in April 2022, and the animal quickly developed a bond with her nine-year-old daughter, who fed and cared for it every day.
On June 24, 2022, however, the family decided to enter Cedar into the Shasta District Fair’s junior livestock auction, where the animals are sold for meat.
Long before the auction began, however, the Long family changed their minds and requested that Cedar be removed from the ticket. The request was denied, and the fair was sold.
The mother then boldly stole the goat back before it was sold.
Following that, police officers travelled hundreds of miles across the county with a search warrant to retrieve the goat before handing it over to individuals suspected of killing Cedar and roasting him on a barbecue for their guests.
A nine-year-old girl is suing the California State Fair after her pet goat was sold and barbecued.
According to the Sacramento Bee, the Long family’s federal civil rights lawsuit now seeks actual, general, and punitive damages. It wishes to establish the young girl’s “free expression or viewpoint on livestock in future livestock activities.””
After seeing her daughter sobbing by the goat’s pen at the fair, the mother decided to steal the animal at the last minute and “deal with the consequences later.””
On June 27, Long wrote in an email to the Shasta District Fair, “It was heartbreaking.” The barn was mostly empty, so I decided at the last minute to break the rules and take the goat that night, dealing with the consequences later.
“I knew when I accepted it that my next steps would be to make things right with the buyer and the fairgrounds.” I will reimburse you for the goat and any other expenses I incurred. I’d like to ask for your assistance in finding a solution.”
Melanie Silva, Chief Executive Officer of the Shasta District Fair, responded to her email and demanded that she return the goat immediately.
“Making an exception for you will only teach our youth that they do not have to follow the rules that are set up for all participants,” she wrote. Unfortunately, I have no control over this. You must immediately return the goat to the Shasta District Fair.”
Shortly after, the barbecue organiser contacted her lawyers regarding the theft of the animal, and the fair’s livestock manager, B.J. Mcfarlane texted Long, threatening to bring in law enforcement if the goat was not returned.
According to the lawsuit, Mcfarlane threatened to charge her with grand theft if she did not return Cedar.
Two weeks after Long’s goat robbery, Shasta County Sheriff’s Detective Jeremy Ashbee filed a search warrant affidavit in an attempt to seize the stolen animal.
On July 8, Judge Monique McKee signed a search warrant, allowing officers to go after the stolen goat.
Cops then raided Bleating Hearts Farm and Sanctuary in Napa, but the goat was nowhere to be found.
Cedar was instead being kept at an unnamed Sonoma County farm, which Long had emailed in a desperate attempt to save the animal from slaughter.
