Horror as ‘happy’ goose shot dead but RSPCA say the animal was in ‘pain and distress’
THE ANIMAL’S BODY WAS LEFT IN FULL VIEW ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER HULL
THE RSPCA has caused horror in n Hull after shooting dead an injured d goose in broad daylight and leaving g its body in the shallow waters of the e River Hull.
Following the incident on Monday y afternoon, an RSPCA spokeswoman n said the bird had been in “pain and d distress” and that shooting it was s “the most humane method to end its ts suffering”.
But Becky Stoakes, 23, said she e had been watching the “happy” y” goose for weeks from the window of her flat in Trinity Wharf.
“He’d joined a little colony of f ducks and it always made me laugh at how large he was in comparison to the smaller members of his group,” she said.
Becky added: “I thought it a little odd that he was the only goose around here and I had never seen him fly so came up with the theory that perhaps he had a dodgy wing. But he was so happy, constantly being fed bread by people passing by, and swimming in the river.”
She said she had been eating her lunch at around 1.30pm on Monday, October 19, and watching two women feeding the goose pieces of bread before she got up to make a drink.
That was when she heard the gunshot and turned around d to see the h bird lying dead in the water.
She said she was “traumatised” and ended up “crying down the phone” to the police, who she said confirmed to her that it had been an authorised killing by the RSPCA.
The RSPCA said it was “saddened” at the death of the bird.
But Becky said: “Sorry, but don’t you dare try to tell me that you were ‘putting him out of his misery’, because I know for a fact that he wasn’t in any misery,” she said.
“Take it from the person who has seen him running around on the river bank and quacking happily for the past few weeks, and who always smiled whenever I saw him, looking so happy in the river.
“Si “Since when does having h i a slight li ht imperfection entitle you to be killed, despite that fact that you were still living a fulfilling life?
“I honestly cannot believe what I had to witness and that nobody seems to care.”
Becky, who has been living in Trinity Wharf for just over a year, said she “can still vividly hear” the gunshots, adding that the only comfort she can take is that it was a quick death.
But she said it was made so much worse by the fact that the bird’s dead body was just left behind.
“They left him there, lying dead directly outside my window,” she said.
“I couldn’t watch
TV without
seeing him in the corner of my eye, or cook the tea, or make a cuppa, without being devastated at the sight of him outside my window.”
She has now pledged never to su support the RSPCA following the in incident.
An RSPCA spokeswoman said: “We’re saddened that this injured goose couldn’t be saved and we understand that people are upset that there wasn’t a happy ending for this beautiful bird.
“This goose had suffered a badly broken wing which was untreatable and would have been causing him pain and distress so, sadly, euthanasia was the kindest way to end his suffering.
“Despite our best efforts over several days, and seeking help from other authorities, we were unable to catch the goose who was located in an area which was difficult and dangerous to access.
“We didn’t want to cause him further stress or harm so sadly this was the most humane method to end his suffering.”