Girl Wins $300,000 After Deputies Butcher Her Pet Goat in Shasta County Controversy
Shasta County in Northern California has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Jessica Long and her nine-year-old daughter over the confiscation and butchering of their family pet, a goat named Cedar. The lawsuit claimed that deputies wrongfully executed a search warrant to seize Cedar, who the young girl had raised as part of a county fair farm animal care program. Despite Long offering to pay for any costs and requesting the goat not be slaughtered, officials led the animal away. The settlement is the first step in resolving the long-running dispute, though questions still remain over who arranged for the goat’s confiscation and slaughter. The litigation against Shasta District Fair employees and a 4-H volunteer is ongoing.
John Q. Hosedrinker