Family receives settlement after claiming sheriff’s office seized, butchered their goat

SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. (KRCR) - A Northern California county and its sheriff's office has settled with a family for $300,000.

It's a saga that involves a goat being seized and then butchered.

Jessica Long hired attorneys who alleged a violation of her family's right to not be subject to unjust search and seizure.

In 2022, Long's then-9-year-old daughter joined a youth 4-H program to introduce her to farming, getting the goat Cedar as part of a termination contract with the Shasta District Fair.

After months of care, Long's daughter grew attached and became distressed before the goat even went to auction.

Leadership with the Shasta District Fair refused to allow her to back out, placing the goat for auction and allowing its purchase for just over $900.

Court documents show the mother was able to get the buyer to relinquish ownership, but the fair insisted the goat was theirs and needed to be slaughtered, threatening to charge the family with grand theft after they removed the goat from the fairgrounds.

After the Longs did not return the goat, the fair's leadership involved the sheriff's office, who eventually went to Sonoma County where the goat was located, seized it and then saw that it was butchered.

The court found the fair's own bylaws established the Longs still had ownership and should have been able to resolve the suit civilly, violating their rights to due process and failing to obtain a warrant for the search in Sonoma County.

However, the county and the sheriff's office are now settling rather than continuing with the litigation to trial, agreeing to pay the Longs and their attorneys $300,000.

An attorney for the family said they will continue to pursue litigation against the Shasta District Fair.