California woman, 11, wins $300K settlement from police who seized, slaughtered pet goat: ‘Can by no means get him again’

A California woman was awarded $300,000 in a settlement with police who went out of their approach to seize and butcher her beloved pet goat, based on studies.

Jessica Lengthy’s daughter — who was simply 9 years outdated when her goat, Cedar, was hauled off to the slaughter in 2022 — reached the settlement Friday with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Workplace and several other of its officers, Courthouse Information Service reported.

The mom sued the division in 2023, a yr after officers traveled about 500 miles roundtrip to grab the goat with no warrant, all within the identify of a state truthful’s supposed guidelines that had no authorized binding.

Her daughter was given Cedar in April 2022 and tended to him day by day for months with plans to lift him for a livestock public sale on the Shasta District Truthful as a part of a youth program.

However when Cedar was handed over to the truthful round July of that yr, the woman discovered she couldn’t half with the animal — particularly because the public sale he was slotted for was promoting the animals for meat.

“After the public sale, [the daughter] wouldn’t go away Cedar’s aspect.” the lawsuit learn, based on Courthouse Information.

“[She] beloved Cedar and the considered him going to slaughter was one thing she couldn’t bear. Whereas sobbing in his pen beside him, [she] communicated to her mom she didn’t need Cedar to go to slaughter.”

However when Lengthy tried to intervene, the truthful mentioned its guidelines wouldn’t enable Cedar to be faraway from public sale — regardless of there being nothing legally binding earlier than gross sales in its public sale code. So Cedar was offered — to Republican California State Sen. Brian Dahle — at a gavel worth of $902, 7% of which was to go to the public sale.

Dahle later agreed to nullify the acquisition — no funds have been ever exchanged — and Lengthy supplied to pay the truthful its $63 fee.

Regardless of this, the truthful refused to launch Cedar, so the mom snatched the goat away and secreted him away to a farm in Sonoma County — and the Shasta County Sheriff’s Workplace obtained a warrant to grab the goat for the truthful.

Police drove about 500 miles roundtrip to take again Cedar, solely to search out that that they had a warrant for the flawed farm.

They lastly situated the goat and seized him with no warrant, based on Lengthy’s lawsuit.

Precisely what grew to become of Cedar is unclear — however it’s believed he was handed over to truthful personnel, who slaughtered him and threw his meat in among the many alternatives at a neighborhood barbecue.

Regardless of the settlement, Lengthy mentioned her daughter, who’s now 11, stays heartbroken.

“The younger woman who raised Cedar misplaced him, and Cedar misplaced his life,” the lawsuit learn.

“Now plaintiffs can by no means get him again.”

The settlement will probably be put in a belief for the younger woman, based on Courthouse Information.

Litigation with defendants from the Shasta District Truthful and the youth program concerned continues to be ongoing.

The Shasta District Truthful and Shasta County Sheriff’s Workplace didn’t instantly reply do a request for remark.