Girl Awarded $300K for Goat Slaughter in Unparalleled Case

A nine-year-old California girl has just won a huge lawsuit from the Shasta County Sheriff's Department for $300k. The girl, Jessica Long, was the proud owner of her beloved pet goat, Cedar. The goat was seized and slaughtered in 2022 after the girl and her mother tried to withdraw the goat from an auction that had already been completed. The goat had fetched a final bidding of $902.

Jessica's mom claimed that she purchased Cedar for the young girl as a family pet. Jessica fed and walked Cedar for nearly three months, and then when it was mature, well fed, and healthy they entered it into a livestock auction. I'm not sure if Jessica or her mother read the fine print, but according to fair officials the purpose of the auction was to teach future farmers and ranchers' responsibility with how to raise animals for food. Officials with the fair even threatened the family with charges of Grand Theft.

The sheriff's office was granted a warrant to retrieve the goat, so they maintain that they did nothing. The sheriff's office claims that they were upholding the law. Meanwhile, the cost of their upholding of the law is going to cost the taxpayers a whopping $300K. I feel very bad for the young girl, but I do not know if a slaughtered goat is worth the equivalent of house in Dallas, Texas (or at least the outskirts).

There are few details known about the end of Cedar's days. No one is sure who pushed the sheriff's department to seize the goat, no one knows how he was slaughtered, and no one knows where his remains can be found. If I had to guess finding the goats remains is probably not going to happen unless someone has held onto some leftovers for the last two years.