A woman in California is suing her local county and district’s state fair after she sold her daughter’s pet goat to them and they killed and barbecued it, according to the New York Post. Back in April 2022, the mother, Jessica Long, purchased the pet goat, Cedar, for her 9-year-old daughter, reports the Sacramento Bee.
The mother is now suing Shasta sheriff’s officials, Shasta County, the Shasta District Fair, and anyone else involved. Court documents say she is requesting actual, general, and punitive damages.
Long’s lawyer informed The Post,
“What happened here is an abuse of power and an incredible waste of taxpayer resources… Government officials escalated a purely civil dispute into a sham criminal pursuit.”
The lawsuit was initially filed back in August 2022; however, it was amended in March 2023.
Back in June 2022, the mother chose to enter the goat into the Shasta District Fair’s junior livestock auction, which sells animals to use as meat. On June 25, the pet goat was sold to Senator Brian Dahle, a representative of California State, for $902. The girl changed her mind after the transaction causing Long to break protocol and take back the goat. The mother said she contacted Dahle and offered to pay back all parties for the goat; however, the state fair and CFDA demanded that she return Cedar. Two weeks after the mother took the goat back, Detective Jeremy Ashbee, requested a search warrant to take Cedar, which a judge signed off on. They later retrieved the goat and slaughtered and barbecued it.
36,600 people have signed a petition to honor the pet goat and spread awareness about the lawsuit.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
