Shasta County and its sheriff's office will pay a $300,000 settlement to the Long family after their pet goat, Cedar, was seized and slaughtered, as part of a contentious legal dispute stemming from a junior livestock auction incident in 2022. The settlement, announced by the family's attorney and co-director of Advancing Law for Animals, Vanessa Shakib, indicated that the girl involved will receive $65,000, as reported by The Sacramento Bee.
The saga began when Jessica Long purchased Cedar, an adorable white Boer goat, for her 9-year-old daughter in preparation for the Shasta District Fair's junior livestock auction. However, when the time came to auction the goat, Long's daughter, having bonded with Cedar, refused to let him go to slaughter, triggering a series of events that led, unfortunately, to Cedar's death and subsequent legal actions. Despite Cedar being sold for $902 after being entered in the auction, the buyer agreed to let the goat return to the family – a compromise rejected by fair officials, according to The Washington Post.
Proof of the bureaucratic impasse and the family's distress emerged after fair officials threatened Jessica Long with a grand theft charge and rejected the family's offer of recompense for any losses incurred, Shakib stated in court filings, as noted by The Sacramento Bee. Efforts to reach an agreement with Shasta County fizzled multiple times before resolution in late August.
The legal ordeal placed 4-H and Future Farmers of America, key players in farming education programs, under scrutiny. After the countersuit filed by the California Attorney General’s Office last November, Shakib argued that the girl's civil rights had been violated by the state and the Shasta District Fair. Shakib conveyed to The Washington Post that the significance of the case isn't merely about the settlement, but in setting a precedent "that government officials understand that animals are not property. They are family members."
Christopher Pisano, representing Shasta County and its sheriff's office, defended the deputies’ actions as lawful enforcement, but the settlement was agreed upon to avoid the uncertainties of a trial. Pisano admitted to being unaware of certain details, including who initiated law enforcement contact and what transpired after the seizure. The emotional and legal entanglement continues, as the case against the Shasta District Fair and Event Center is still ongoing, with unanswered questions about the outcome of Cedar's life.
