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TRENDING NOW IN LIFESTYLE

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I CAUGHT MY BOYFRIEND CHEATING ON OUR CRUISE SHIP'S SECURITY...

I GAVE MY GOAT TO THE STATE FAIR AND THEY BARBECUED IT — NOW...

I GREW UP WEALTHY — HERE ARE THE UNSPOKEN RULES OF 'RICH WHITE'...

Weird But True


I GAVE MY GOAT TO THE STATE FAIR AND THEY BARBECUED IT — NOW I’M SUING

By Jane Herz

March 30, 2023 | 8:51pm

They got her goat – literally.


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A California woman sold her daughter’s pet goat to her local county and
district’s state fair — but now she’s suing them after they allegedly
slaughtered and barbecued it.

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Jessica Long purchased Cedar, the beloved pet goat, in April 2022 for her
9-year-old daughter, who cared for the farm animal every day, reported the
Sacramento Bee.

After deciding to enter Cedar into the Shasta District Fair’s livestock auction,
the daughter desperately wanted him back, leading Long to steal the goat.

In the process, it prompted a frenzy involving local officials and sent sheriffs
on a 200-mile wild goose chase — make that goat chase — to find and retrieve the
precious pet.

But Long’s attorney called the events an “abuse of power” and a “sham.”

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A woman in California is suing after her goat was allegedly barbecued. Advancing
Law for Animals

Long is now suing the Shasta sheriff’s officials, Shasta County, the Shasta
District Fair and other defendants they believe are involved and is asking for
actual, general and punitive damages, according to court documents obtained by
the Sacramento Bee.

“What happened here is an abuse of power, and an incredible waste of taxpayer
resources,” Vanessa Shakib, Long’s lawyer, told The Post in an emailed
statement. “Government officials escalated a purely civil dispute into a sham
criminal pursuit.”

Jessica Long said her daughter’s pet goat was unfairly taken. Advancing Law for
Animals

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The lawsuit was originally filed in August 2022 but amended in March of this
year.

“Police officers improperly declared themselves judge and jury, and disposed of
a little girl’s family pet in violation of her Due Process rights,” Shakib
continued to The Post. “Officials in the State of California surely have more
pressing matters to attend to than a publicly-funded 500-mile joyride to
illegally seize a little girl’s goat.”

When contacted by The Post, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office responded simply:
“Unfortunately, due to pending litigation we are unable to comment.”

The family entered their pet goat, Cedar, into the state fair, but quickly
changed their minds about selling it at auction. Advancing Law for Animals

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The Post has also reached out to the Shasta District Fair and the California
Department of Food and Agriculture for further comment.

In June of last year, Long decided to enter Cedar into the Shasta District
Fair’s junior livestock auction — which sells animals solely for use as meat.

The fair’s brochure strictly states that there are “no exceptions.”

Long’s lawyer called Cedar’s retrieval an “abuse of power” by California
officials. Advancing Law for Animals

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On June 25, Cedar was sold to a representative of California State Senator Brian
Dahle for a whopping $902, according to The Sacramento Bee, of which $63.14 was
supposed to go to the state fair and $838.86 to the goat’s owners.

However, Long’s daughter — who “loved” the animal “as a family pet,” the suit
claimed — was reportedly crushed about the goat’s fate.

So Long resorted to a drastic measure — and took back Cedar.

The 9-year-old took care of the goat and fed it every day. Advancing Law for
Animals

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“It was heartbreaking,” Long wrote in a June 27 email explaining her decision to
the Shasta District Fair, obtained by The Sacramento Bee. “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 mom said that she had contacted Dahle, who didn’t seem to mind that she
wanted to save the goat from slaughter, and Long offered to pay the parties back
for the animal and any expenses.

But the state fair and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CFDA)
still demanded the mother return Cedar, with the fair’s chief executive officer
reportedly emailing her that the decision was meant to teach “our youth
responsibility.”

> ‘I decided to break the rules and take the goat that night and deal with the
> consequences later.’

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“Making an exception for you will only teach out [sic] youth that they do not
have to abide by the rules that are set up for all participants,” they added.

The CFDA also told the fair’s CEO that they had to stick to the rules of the
state fair.

The Sacramento Bee reported that the CEO then sent an email to a CFDA official,
claiming that an organizer of the local community barbecue “has contacted her
lawyers regarding the theft of the goat donated to the bbq.”

A livestock manager of the Shasta District Fair had already started texting
Long, reportedly warning that there would be “serious consequences” if she
didn’t return Cedar to them — even threatening a felony count of grand theft.

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Two weeks after Long had taken back the goat, a sheriff from Shasta County,
Detective Jeremy Ashbee, filed a search warrant affidavit requesting permission
to take Cedar.

It is believed that Cedar was then served up at a community barbecue upon being
slaughtered.Advancing Law for Animals

A judge signed off on it, allowing the officers to “utilize breaching equipment
to force open doorway(s), entry doors, exit doors, and locked containers in
pursuit of their target” at Bleating Hearts Farm and Sanctuary in Napa, where
Cedar was thought to be, the Bee reported.

However, Cedar was not there — instead, he was at an unnamed farm in Sonoma
County where Long had sent the animal in order to avoid the slaughterhouse.

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The sheriffs retrieved the goat from that animal rescue — allegedly with “no
warrant to search and seize” Cedar at that specific facility — and drove him
over 200 miles back to Shasta County, where he was handed off to unnamed fair
personnel for “slaughter/destruction,” the lawsuit claimed.

They got the goat in April 2022. Advancing Law for Animals

It is believed that Cedar was then served up at a community barbecue after being
slaughtered.

An online petition has been started in honor of Cedar, in hopes to raise
awareness about the lawsuit.

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What do you think? Post a comment.

“Let the Shasta Fair Association and the Shasta County Sheriff’s deputies
reportedly involved in this case know that you denounce the cruel slaughter of
Cedar and that you’d like to see a more compassionate response in any similar
situations,” the statement reads in part.

It has already nabbed 36,600 signatures.


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Filed under bbq ,  california ,  children ,  goats ,  lawsuits ,  state fairs , 
3/30/23
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