Pet goat slaughtered and served at community BBQ

[MrDawn]

Your thoughts about this?

A 9-year-old girl received a baby goat named Cedar last year from her family. The girl was participating in a 4-H livestock program, so she and her family knew they would eventually have to sell the goat at auction to be slaughtered for meat. Instead of turning over the goat, the girl's mom packed Cedar into her car and took him to an animal sanctuary. After the police seized the goat, Cedar was brought to the livestock fair, where he was allegedly slaughtered and served at a community barbecue.

 

[passenger]

I think that this particular animal had already been sold at auction, but when the time came to hand it over to the buyer & at the last minute Mom & Kid got cold feet.
I'm pretty sure that "they" had opportunity to not enter the sales agreement before final "ceremonies". Those kids' groups are not a bunch of sadists.
It happens.

"so she and her family knew they would eventually have to sell the goat at auction to be slaughtered for meat"

I think that the mother was being dishonest with the child. Not a "white lie" situation either. The breed of the particular goat pictured in this video is a Boer = a meat breed. The parents could have given the kid a Dairy Goat or a Pigmy Goat....neither of which would have been sold for slaughter.
I think that part of the value of organizations like 4-H and FFA livestock (and chicken-raising) groups is not only to teach 'animal husbandry' to kids, but also to face some of the really hard lessons in life.......to "brace" them so to speak on how to deal with some of the unpleasantries of life.

Tough Love!

 

[DrLeftover]

Of course Inside Edition doesn't have a vegan/vegetarian slant to their stories, right? nnnoooo

 

[Crys]

Damn...

 

[Scarlet Rose]

I am really unfamiliar with programs like that, so this seems like a really unusual situation to me. It comes across as irresponsible of the parents. It is hard to learn much about how that program is run though with how the video is framed.

 

[Nebulous]

Damn, that 4H program was going to stop at nothing to make sure that goat was killed. They got a search warrant to get it back from an animal sanctuary and then they wouldn't sell the goat to the mom even though she was going to match the price they'd get at auction.

 

[passenger]

I am really unfamiliar with programs like that, so this seems like a really unusual situation to me. It comes across as irresponsible of the parents. It is hard to learn much about how that program is run though with how the video is framed.

I am not real familiar with FFA...Future Farmers of America; I think it is basically about kids handling and learning all about farm animals. Maybe some Agriculture stuff too, I don't know.
4-H is a lot more of a variety....the kids, can join whichever "outside of school" activities they think they're interested in. And, whichever groups are formed and organized and have volunteer group leaders in their specific geo. location. TOTALLY voluntary on the part of the kids & parents or guardians; and the parents also need to be involved.
In my particular situation at the time...when my kids were the right ages...4-H groups were a wonderful activity for my kids. They were involved in cooking, swimming, sheep, rabbit & chicken projects; different years of course. Except swimming, their animal and food projects were shown at the local county fair....competing for Grand, 1st, 2nd prize ribbons...or, if the project does not pass the judges scrutiny...no prize.
Animals can be entered in different categories...our rabbits were only entered in the "showing & fitting" categories, and not sold at auction at the fair. One year the girl raised 50 chickens; they were a meat breed, so they were sold. Another year she just entered two or three "layers", they came back home.
The boy's beautiful sheep, Willow, won a Grand Prize ribbon and was sold at auction. .... but we knew beforehand that would happen and we had the choice of entering the animal in that particular classification at the fair.
BTW - - The sheep group leader was a wonderful lady from New Zealand!

so.....I feel sorry for that kid, but the mother is totally to blame....IMO

 

[passenger]

Damn, that 4H program was going to stop at nothing to make sure that goat was killed. They got a search warrant to get it back from an animal sanctuary and then they wouldn't sell the goat to the mom even though she was going to match the price they'd get at auction.

Yeah, that sure seems ridiculously extreme; unjustifiable.

 

[Scarlet Rose]

I am not real familiar with FFA...Future Farmers of America; I think it is basically about kids handling and learning all about farm animals. Maybe some Agriculture stuff too, I don't know.
4-H is a lot more of a variety....the kids, can join whichever "outside of school" activities they think they're interested in. And, whichever groups are formed and organized and have volunteer group leaders in their specific geo. location. TOTALLY voluntary on the part of the kids & parents or guardians; and the parents also need to be involved.
In my particular situation at the time...when my kids were the right ages...4-H groups were a wonderful activity for my kids. They were involved in cooking, swimming, sheep, rabbit & chicken projects; different years of course. Except swimming, their animal and food projects were shown at the local county fair....competing for Grand, 1st, 2nd prize ribbons...or, if the project does not pass the judges scrutiny...no prize.
Animals can be entered in different categories...our rabbits were only entered in the "showing & fitting" categories, and not sold at auction at the fair. One year the girl raised 50 chickens; they were a meat breed, so they were sold. Another year she just entered two or three "layers", they came back home.
The boy's beautiful sheep, Willow, won a Grand Prize ribbon and was sold at auction. .... but we knew beforehand that would happen and we had the choice of entering the animal in that particular classification at the fair.
BTW - - The sheep group leader was a wonderful lady from New Zealand!

so.....I feel sorry for that kid, but the mother is totally to blame....IMO

Thank you, that makes a lot more sense now. I am pretty sure we have similar programs in the country here in New Zealand. It sounds like quite a positive and fulfilling initiative. Both helping with the development of children and better integrating them into community life. I am still mystified by the mother's actions at every level. Her desire and willingness to escalate it at each step just increased my confusion. The video had the obvious slant, yet because of a potential cultural difference her willingness to resort to legal measures portrayed the mother much more negatively to me. I do feel sorry for the kid, I imagine it is similar to situations here where children get attached to a farm animal which isn't unheard of. Pretty sure one of my sisters got attached to one growing up. But it didn't really escalate beyond them being sad for a little while and then life continuing on.