An adult Egyptian goose died after being struck in its torso by a training arrow in Irvine, police said.
The goose was seen walking in the area of College Park Elementary School, 3700 Chaparral Avenue, on Dec. 28, when it was retrieved by an Animal Services Officer and died on its way to receive medical treatment, the Irvine Police Department said in a statement posted on social media on Thursday.
“Whoever did this could have gotten very close,” said Sgt. Karie Davies, who added that geese are common in the area and have become accustomed to being around people.
Davies said the training arrow had a metal head and solid body wrapped in a plastic sheath, which likely came from a crossbow.
“The animals they feel the pain, they feel the fear, and people need to stop doing stuff like that,” said Debbie McGuire, executive director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach.
Police are asking the public to contact the Irvine Police Department Animal Services Office at (949) 724-7092 if they have any information on the shooting of the animal. As of Monday, no new information was available from police.
No one was prosecuted in three other abuse cases involving birds dating to April 2022, McGuire said. In March 2023, a Mallard duck was brought in for treatment at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center after it was shot in the neck with a dart arrow in Newport Beach.
In August 2022, three mallard ducks were found with severed bills at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley, leaving them starving and unable to eat. Between April and May 2022, seven birds were killed and several others were injured after being shot with a pellet gun at TeWinkle Park in Costa Mesa.
