In California, an 11-year-old girl will be paid $300,000 for a kid goat that was seized by police and taken away for slaughter (2 photos)

The goat, named Cedar, was taken from a girl and taken to a slaughterhouse in 2022 when she was 9 years old. Police drove about 500 miles (804.6 km) round trip to seize the animal without a warrant, citing state fair rules that were not legally binding.





The girl's mother, Jessica Long, sued the police department in 2023.

The girl took Cedar in April 2022, and she cared for him daily for several months before the Shasta County Fair’s livestock auction. But when the animal was sent to the fair, the girl realized she didn’t want to part with him. Plus, the fair sold animals for meat.

“She loved Cedar, and the thought of him going to slaughter was unbearable. She sat in the pen with him and cried, [she] told her mother that she didn’t want Cedar to go to slaughter,” the lawsuit says.

When Jessica contacted the fair’s organizers, they said they couldn’t remove Cedar from the auction, even though there was nothing in the auction code that legally obligated them to sell animals.

The kid was sold to Senator Brian Dahle for $902, with 7% going to the auction.



After that, they agreed to cancel the deal, and Long offered to pay the fair a commission of $63. But Cedar was never released, so the mother stole the kid.

The police were ordered to seize the animal, but they were given a warrant for the wrong farm, so they took Cedar without a warrant. What happened to the kid is unknown, but it is likely that the fair employees slaughtered him and barbecued him for the residents.

Jessica shared that her daughter is still very upset despite the settlement. "She raised Cedar, lost him, and Cedar lost his life. Plaintiffs will never get him back," the lawsuit states.