By Bob Walsh
Regular readers will remember I have written two or three
times about the sad tale of Cedar the Goat, who was as 4H project in
Shasta County, CA. The parents of the goats owner sent the goat to hide
out when the the nine-year old owner decided that she didn't want him
auctioned off and turned into shish kabob. The county authorities, who
operate the county fair where the livestock auction was held, sent the
county sheriff out to find and seize the goat in Sonoma County, a 200
mile one way drive.
I am
unsure whether anybody has ever determined who actually slaughtered the
goat or where the meat turned up. Never the less the county is shelling
out $300,000 plus court costs in the matter. The White Boer goat sold
for $902. The girl will get $65,000 of the settlement. The county
officials had originally threatened the girl's family with charges for
grand theft. It ended up with the State Attorney General, the state
Dept. of Food and Agriculture and the federal courts and various animal
rights organizations involved in the action.
I
have never been involved with 4H or FFA but I would think that it would
be unwise for the people who raise these critters to transition them
from livestock to pets. However, little girls (and presumably boys as
well) do form attachments to cute fuzzy animals. Perhaps that should
have occurred to somebody BEFORE the animal was entered in the
competition for sale.
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