An Egyptian goose struck to the chest with what seemed to be a bullet, waddling along and dodging traffic in Reservoir Road in Somerset West on the morning of Saturday 15 October was a sight Lyndsay McEwan describes as “heartbreaking and unacceptable”.
“I stopped to try and help but I couldn’t catch it myself. The goose just took off and landed in an open field. These birds mate for life and its mate was just standing next to it . . . The moment was emotional but also traumatic. How could somebody actually shoot this beautiful bird? This should’ve never happened and there are many residents who are angry about this incident. This is illegal” said McEwan.
The incident occurred around 08:00 and the bird was most likely shot just minutes or seconds before McEwan came across it. Blood was seeping across its breast, the wound was clearly visible and it couldn’t fly properly, said McEwan, adding that the only reasonable explanation was that it had been shot.
“Why would someone do this? Is it perhaps because they were woken up a little earlier than they wanted to be on a Saturday morning, because of a goose calling to its mate? Why are people so cruel,” McEwan asked.
She tried calling a few animal rescuers, and eventually reached to Clare Travers of Animal Welfare Society (AWS) Helderberg.
Travers confirmed an inspector was sent out to the location and attempted to locate the injured bird on two occasions, but unfortunately it could not be found.
“I’ve spoken to the caller and we suspect that the goose flew to another location and probably died, which is really very devastating considering the circumstances,” Travers said, adding that reported incidents of birds being shot are very rare in the area.
“AWS Helderberg will always respond to such call-outs and thereafter place the injured animal in the care of institutions that have the resources to rehabilitate the animal. It’s also important for the community to be aware of such incidents occurring,”.
Travers further labelled the incident “tragic”. “It’s very sad. All animals should just be left in their natural environment; we have no right to take it into our hands and fatally injure animals like this,” she said.
