Girl, 9, sues state fair after her pet goat is entered in auction and ‘barbecued’

A 9-year-old girl and her family are suing a state fair after her pet goat was entered into an auction and feared to have been barbecued.

The girl’s mother, Jessica Long, bought her a seven-month-old white Boer named Cedar in April 2022. Her daughter grew to love the goat with chocolate-colored markings on its face ‘as a family pet’, according to a lawsuit obtained by The Sacramento Bee.

But in June, Long entered Cedar into the Shasta District Fair’s junior livestock auction to be sold off as meat.

Before the auction began, however, the Long family changed their minds as the girl had grown attached, and tried to withdraw the goat.

The fair denied the family’s request and Cedar was sold for $902. Long then decided to steal the goat.

‘It was heartbreaking. 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,’ wrote Long in an email to the Shasta District Fair on June 27.

‘I knew when I took it that my next steps were to make it right with the buyer and the fairgrounds. I will pay you back for the goat and any other expenses I caused. I would like to ask for your support in finding a solution.’

The fair’s chief executive officer Melanie Silva would not have it.

‘Making an exception for you will only teach out youth that they do not have to abide by the rules that are set up for all participants,’ wrote back Silva. ‘Unfortunately, this is out of my hands. You will need to bring the goat back to the Shasta District Fair immediately.’

The fair’s livestock manager BJ Mcfarlane texted Long threatening to call law enforcement on her and that she would face a felony county of grand theft if she did not bring the goat back, according to the suit.

On July 8, a judge approved a search warrant for Cedar. Police descended on Bleating Hearts Farm and Sanctuary in Napa and did not find the goat. They then went to a farm in Sonoma County that Long had contacted, and took Cedar although they did not have a search warrant for the site, the lawsuit claims.

The suit alleges that Cedar was handed over to a person with the fair ‘for slaughter/destruction’ instead of being held for a court hearing to decide the rightful owner.

What happened of Cedar is not clear, but Long’s attorney Vanessa Shakib said they do not believe the goat is still alive.

‘At this time we don’t have that specific information and we can only speculate,’ said Shakib. ‘While it hasn’t been confirmed as a factual matter, we believe the goat Cedar has been killed.’

The federal civil rights lawsuit seeks to establish the girl’s ‘free expression or viewpoint with respect to livestock in future livestock activities’. Her family is after actual, general and punitive damages.

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