Witness says driver hit, killed baby geese on purpose
MANSFIELD, Ohio – It’s a familiar sight in Northeast Ohio. A family of Canada geese crossing a road bringing traffic to a stop, but a witness to a scene like that said he believes a driver ran over the animals on purpose.
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John Finley was with his fiancé on N. Main Street in Mansfield Monday when an adult Canada goose and four goslings were making their way across the busy road,
“There was a big group of them and it was just one of those moments when it was so neat seeing them,” said Finley, who was behind another car that had stopped, with others stopping behind them.
Finley said they saw a black pickup truck approaching in the northbound lanes.
“The vehicle slowed down. We thought that he was going to let them pass and then he speeded up,” said Finley.
“When he sped up he hit the mother and four of the goslings,” he added, telling Fox 8 that the driver sped away.
Finley said his fiance, who was driving, pulled over and they both got out to see if there was something they could do to help the birds.
“The geese were of course injured. I picked up two of them and one was apparently already deceased, mom picked up the another and we got them out of the roadway.”
He described witnessing the incident as traumatic. “They suffered. The mother made it for a while and died in my fiancé’s arms,”
Finley says he called police and is extrmely happy that officers took the incident seriously, filing their own report and contacting the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
The species is federally protected as a migratory bird.
“When they are protected under the migratory bird treaty act, the bird itself, its young and its eggs are protected which means you cant do anything to physically harm them unless you have a special permit from the feds to do so,” said Laurie Brown, a wildlife research technician with the ODNR who normally handles human-wildlife conflicts in Northeast Ohio.
Males and female Canadian geese mate for life, and Brown said this is the time of year when they are mating and they can become very aggressive trying to protect their young.
They are also protected under Ohio law.
Intentionally killing the animals can result in a fine of up to $250 and as much as 30 days in jail per bird.
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“We understand that accidents do happen from time to time but when we know somebody intentionally is purposefully running them over then yes at that point we need to address that situation,” said Brown.
Finley is offering a $250 reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the driver responsible.
He’s asking anyone who can help to contact police or to message him directly through his FaceBook messenger saying those who have information can share it anonymously.
“He saw the geese, there’s no question in my mind that he did not see the geese, this was a deliberate act of animal cruelty,” said Finley.
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