Goose abuse?

The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the wounding of an Egyptian goose that was recently brought in for treatment.

The goose, affectionately named “Arrowhead” by center volunteers, was found in Tri-City Park in Placentia and brought to the center by Orange County Animal Control authorities on Dec. 29. Someone shot the goose through the neck with a 29-inch arrow.

“He was really lucky,” said Lisa Birkle, assistant wildlife director. The goose had a wound the size of a nickel that went all the way through his neck, she said. “He’s lucky it didn’t hit anything vital, including his food pipe.”

Police consider the metal arrow a “kill weapon,” not a toy, said Sharon Weeks, a supervisor at the center. The center frequently receives animals abused by people, but not often this cruelly, Weeks said.

“If it were a malicious act and someone was using a bow and arrow in a public park or golf course, we would definitely want that person identified,” said Debbie McGuire, the center’s director. “At least for the safety of people in the park.”

The penalty for shooting a goose with an arrow is unknown until someone is arrested, said Public Affairs Counsel Susan Schroeder of the Orange County District Attorney’s office. “It’s hard to know if a crime, if any, has been committed.

“We would need to know the facts,” she said. “It could have been an accident or done on purpose.”

In April 2005, the center received a mutilated pelican, named “Hope,” whose beak had been slashed all the way to its neck. The pelican received medical attention and healed enough that the bird could be released back into the wild.

In Arrowhead’s case, it would be difficult to find the culprit unless a witness stepped forward, Weeks said.

The goose is a non-native species that’s known for its beautiful colors, especially during breeding season, McGuire said.

Hearing reports about the impaled goose, a man from the La Mirada golf course called the center saying there were other Egyptian geese on the golf course, Birkle said. The center is verifying the golf course employee’s story but Birkle said several arrows of the type that Arrowhead was shot with have been found in Tri-City Park.

If Arrowhead was shot and pierced on the golf course, it means he could have flown a little way to the park, according to Birkle. “When he would have opened his wings to fly, it would have definitely hurt him to do so with the arrow in his neck,” she said.

Several people have called to offer sanctuary to Arrowhead, including a woman in Fallbrook who said she has a large yard with a pond that he could use. The center’s leaders on Thursday will discuss where to release Arrowhead after he has healed.

Arrowhead weighed about four pounds when he was brought to the center. After two weeks of being in the center’s care, he has gained about a couple of pounds, Weeks said.

“They say that when abuse starts with an animal, they sometimes go on to abuse people,” Weeks said.

-------------------------------

QUESTION

What more can be done to prevent injury and abuse of wildlife? Leave your thoughts on our Readers’ Hotline at (714) 966-4664, fax us at (714) 966-4667 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Please include your name and city where you live.