Police Traveled 500 Miles To Seize Girl's Pet Goat for Slaughter

[mountaineer]

Police Traveled 500 Miles To Seize Girl's Pet Goat for Slaughter
A 9-year-old backed out of a deal to sell her pet goat for slaughter. Local officials and sheriff's deputies used the power of the state to force her to go through with it.
Joe Lancaster | 3.31.2023 4:40 PM

A federal civil lawsuit alleges that sheriff's deputies from Shasta County, California, traveled across the state to seize a little girl's "beloved pet goat" for slaughter. New reporting details how they may have violated the law in doing so.

According to the lawsuit, in June 2022, Jessica Long and her daughter, who was 9 years old and only referred to as E.L., attended the Shasta District Fair. The fair includes a junior livestock auction, in which members of 4-H youth programs exhibit farm animals they've raised. At the end, the animals are sold to the highest bidders to be slaughtered for meat. The fair takes 7 percent of the sale, and the kids get to keep the rest.

In April, Long purchased her daughter a goat, whom she named Cedar.  ...

At the fair, state Sen. Brian Dahle was Cedar's highest bidder, pledging $902. But by then, E.L. had second thoughts about sending her new four-legged friend to die. She and her mother tried to withdraw Cedar from competition but were told that the rules forbid it. After the auction, E.L. refused to leave Cedar's side, sobbing next to him in his pen. At this point, before money had changed hands, Long and her daughter sought to terminate the contract: California law allows that "a contract of a minor may be disaffirmed."

Long told representatives of the fair that she would happily pay the 7 percent fee that would have resulted from the sale (in this case, $63.14) and took Cedar home.  ...

But in the following days, B.J. Macfarlane, livestock manager of the Shasta District Fair & Event Center, the state agency that runs the fair, called Long and told her that if she did not return Cedar, he would have her charged with felony grand theft. ...

Two weeks after the fair, Shasta sheriff's Detective Jeremy Ashbee sought and received a search warrant, directing two officers to drive more than 500 miles in order to seize Cedar and return him to Shasta County.  ...

Entire story at Reason Magazine

[SZonian]

"If both Long and Dahle agreed to terminate the contract, and Long agreed to reimburse the fair for its share of the purchase, then who was harmed?"

I suppose this is a life lesson for the young lady, don't name food.

On the other hand, the police will go after a 9 year old, but won't go after the scum who shoplift 2-3xs more than that...despicable.

[Smokin Joe]

Did the kid ever get paid for the goat?


If not, then it was stolen under color of law.

[Free Vulcan]

If there was no exchange of money then there is no contract. Was anything even signed? The fair has no legal authority to make up rules on it's own.

Getting so tired of the 'because I say so' crap then calling the law on people to enforce your made up legality.