CRUEL! Little girl's pet goat snatched and slaughtered by California sheriff

A little girl whose pet goat was taken away from her, auctioned off and then slaughtered for meat has won a court case that orders California sheriff’s deputies to pay the girl's family $300,000.

The goat named Cedar was given to the nine-year-old by her mother Jessica Long in 2022. At the time, her daughter was enrolled in a youth development programme in California.

The family then entered Cedar into the Shasta County District Fair junior livestock where animals are also auctioned off for meat. However, the family didn't want to go through with it and told the fair’s officials that the girl did not wish to auction Cedar off.

But the fair association refused to let them withdraw the goat, citing their rules. California State Senator Brian Dahle placed the winning bid of $902, of which the fair got $63 while the rest was supposed to go to the girl’s family.

According to court documents, the girl refused to leave the goat and cried next to its pen. Long then took the goat with her and offered to pay for any losses. The family took Cedar 200 miles away to a farm in Sonoma County to keep it safe.

The fair officials threatened the family with consequences, with a fair association official saying that Long would be charged with grand theft if she did not return the goat.

The mother pleaded with the officials to let the girl keep the goat while they could keep the money from the sale. Long also talked to Dahle about the matter. His representatives said they were fine with her efforts to save the goat from slaughter and even waived his rights to the animal.

Girl had lost 3 grandparents in a year

Long wrote a letter to fair officials, saying that the girl had lost three grandparents in the past year and they did not want her to suffer more. However, the officials paid no heed to her cries.

Shasta County Sheriff’s Department obtained a warrant for the search and seizure of the animal at the Bleating Hearts Farm and Sanctuary in Napa County. They drove to Napa Valley for 10 hours but did not find the goat there. They travelled to another farm for which they did not have a warrant, but anyway searched the property and took the goat away.

The family later filed a case against the deputies, saying they had violated the law.

Advancing Law for Animals, a non-profit that represented the family, issued a statement, saying the goat’s story "reflects the broader issue of perceived government overreach in handling personal pets."