Goose 'deliberately' hurt in electric bike incident by Walsall canal

The young bird was seriously injured in the incident, which happened at the side of the canal near to Birchills Liberal Club in Old Birchills at about 2.30pm on Saturday.

A member of the public allegedly saw a man riding a white electric bike and wearing a bright orange jacket.

The witness claims they then saw him cycle over the bridge and aim his bike at the wildlife on the side of the canal, before hitting a young goose.

Warning – some readers may find the following image distressing.

The RSPCA is now appealing for anyone with information about the incident which led to the bird's death to come forward.

Cara Gibbon, animal rescue officer at the charity, said: "A witness says they saw a man deliberately aim for the geese on his bike and sadly struck a young goose who was resting by the side of the canal.

"The goose managed to flop into the water but it was immediately clear that he was injured with a snapped leg and broken wing leading a kind member of the public who witnessed this to contact us for help.

"When I arrived, the poor goose was bleeding heavily and was severely injured.

"If this was deliberate, as has been alleged, then this is an awful and unnecessary act of cruelty to a young goose. It is never acceptable to treat any animal in this way.

"We want to see a world where every kind of animal is treated with kindness and respect and this incident is the very opposite of that."

Among its injuries, the goose suffered a broken leg and was bleeding "profusely".

Ms Gibbon added: "We managed to capture the goose using a boat and coaxed him onto land so that I was able to check the extent of his injuries which were incredibly severe.

"The goose had a broken right leg which was bleeding profusely and a broken right wing.

"Unfortunately, the kindest thing to do was to put him to sleep to end his suffering which is heartbreaking but sadly it was for the best given the extent of his injuries and the amount of blood he had lost.

"It is important to highlight that electric bikes can go incredibly fast and are heavy and therefore can do some serious damage to wildlife, accidentally or otherwise, so we would always urge cyclists to be careful in areas where they know wildlife are likely to be."

Anyone with information about the incident should contact the RSPCA on its inspectorate appeal line by calling 0300 123 8018.

The bird's death comes as the charity has reported a rise in cruelty reports this year.

Last summer, the RSPCA saw a 17 per cent hike in beating reports, while calls about intentional harm went up by 11 per cent.

In the first six months of this year, it received 44,879 cruelty reports to its emergency line – an increase of more than two percent in the same time-frame last year.

The charity has this summer launched its No Animal Deserves Cruelty campaign to help tackle the rising figures.