SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Mike Albiani has been around Elk Grove High School’s farm for decades as a teacher and Future Farmers of America adviser. One thing he knows come auction time: Sometimes, there are tears.
This year, the animals’ procession from farm project to auction floor, slaughterhouse to table — and the emotional bonds students build with them in the months leading to auction — has taken on renewed importance following the Shasta County saga of Cedar the goat.
First reported by The Sacramento Bee, a legal battle arose from the goat’s seizure by Shasta County law enforcement at the behest of county fair officials and its apparent eventual slaughter after its 9-year-old owner and family backed out of the animal’s sale. The family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, which shows the efforts officials went to to retrieve the goat. The case, the issue and the details about it have generated a range of social reaction and gone viral.
