Goose Beaten To Death At Putnam County Golf Course

CARMEL, NY — A golfer faces charges after the death of a Canada goose at the Putnam County Golf Course.

On Friday, officers of the Putnam County SPCA responded to a call from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police, who had just received a complaint and were enroute to the golf course in Mahopac.

Witnesses told the officers a goose had been struck by a golf ball and dazed. A golfer on the 14th hole then proceeded to strike the goose several times with his club, walk away, then notice the goose was still moving, come back and strike the goose again.

"We were told by a witness a goose on the course was hit by the ball and went down," Putnam County SPCA Chief Ken Ross told Patch. "It struggled to get up. Another golfer saw it struggle and wanted to put it out of its misery. He hit it a couple of times. Then he saw it struggle again and went back and hit it again."

After the investigation, a Carmel man was charged with one count of animal cruelty by the SPCA and given a summons for a violation under the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Law.

"We work very closely with the EnCon police, because a lot of times the laws overlap. They handle wildlife, but in New York State all animals are protected under the agriculture and markets law," Ross said.

"People have different ideas of what's right and what's wrong. He didn't want to see the bird slowly die," Ross said. "The bigger issue is, none of these people are veterinarians. You don't know if it was life-threatening or not."

In fact, he said, when the SPCA officers took the goose carcass to their veterinarian, the examination concluded that the goose's wings and feet were fine and though its chest was swollen, probably from the impact of the golf ball, it probably would have been able to recover. What killed it was blunt force trauma to the head.

"In the agriculture and markets law, that becomes torture," Ross said.

Under the law, for example, if you hit a dog with your car, you are supposed to contact the owner, contact the police, and if you can't reach either one, you should get it immediate medical help, he said.

The charges filed in this case are accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.