Protect The Harvest | California 4-H Auction Result Hijacked by Extremists to Attack Animal Agriculture

Last fall, a story went viral about a California 4-H member who refused to give up her 4-H market goat after it had been sold at auction. The girl’s mother was quoted in the Sacramento Bee newspaper saying her daughter bonded with the goat “as she would have bonded with a puppy.” It wasn’t until the goat had been sold at the county fair’s annual 4-H auction that the girl decided she didn’t want the goat to be processed for food, which is the purpose of 4-H market animal programs.

The girl’s family made an offer to reimburse the goat’s buyer, but couldn’t come to an agreement with fair officials. Consequently, the family removed the goat from the fairgrounds and placed it at an undisclosed location. The goat was ultimately retrieved by county sheriff’s deputies and subsequently slaughtered, per the agreement with 4-H and the fair. The 4-H member’s mother then sued county officials with support from an animal rights extremist law firm.

California Case is an Exception, Not the Rule

4-H was established in Ohio in 1902 with the motto “To Make The Best Better,” and has become one of the most prominent, and successful, youth development programs in the United States, with nearly six million active members and 25 million alumni as of 2016. Administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 4-H was originally focused on agriculture and homemaking. Over time, the organization evolved to include responsible citizenship, healthy living,