Canada geese killed and tortured in 2 separate SLO County incidents
A Canada goose was killed at a San Luis Obispo County golf course and other geese were tortured by fishermen at Santa Margarita Lake in a pair of incidents reported by witnesses.
On Thursday, two golf carts chased a goose across the putting green at the Avila Beach Golf Resort — running the bird down and killing it, a witness said.
In a separate incident earlier in the summer, a witness at Santa Margarita Lake told The Tribune that she watched three young men use their fishing poles to hook the birds and drag them into the water.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the Avila Beach killing, but not the incident at the lake, agency spokesman Tony Cipolla said.
Both the Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife investigate cases of animal cruelty, according to Cipolla.
Rangers at Santa Margarita Lake refused to discuss the incident there. The Tribune also reached out to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, but has yet to get a response.
California Penal Code outlaws animal abuse and cruelty, defined in Section 597, as “anyone who intentionally maims, tortures, wounds or kills an animal,” Cipolla said.
Animal abuse is punished by a one-year jail sentence, a fine of up to $20,000, or prison time, Cipolla said.
Golfers kill Canada goose at Avila Beach golf course
On Thursday, an Avila Beach resident and her friend were strolling by the golf course when they saw two golf carts screeching across the grass in pursuit of a goose, she said.
“This poor little goose was trying to evade this golf cart,” the woman said. She requested anonymity to avoid retaliation from the golfers.
She said the goose honked frantically as it tried to fly away, but it couldn’t escape.
“He just ran it down and killed it,” the witness said of one golfer. “We could hear him just laughing like crazy.”
When the woman’s friend shouted at the men, they dashed away without a backwards glance — leaving the dead goose on the grass, she said.
The witnesses followed the golfers to the clubhouse, where they found the two golf carts littered with beer cans and abandoned in the parking lot.
The men also left their score cards, which included their names.
The pair reported the incident to the the resort, the Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“It was just a stupid, drunk, privileged kid that was out there with no regard for life,” the witness said. “Don’t blame the behavior on evil when it can be blamed by stupidity.”
Avila Beach Golf Resort General Manager Colby Hartje would not comment on the incident but said “we deal with any issues or concerns as best we can.”
“We do not condone negative behavior on our course,” Hartje added.
The Sheriff’s Office has not yet located or identified the suspects, according to Cipolla.
Fishermen deliberately hooked geese at Santa Margarita Lake
At Santa Margarita Lake, three young men made a sport out of hooking wild geese with their fishing poles and dragging the birds into the water, Paso Robles resident Lahni Brannan told The Tribune.
Brannan witnessed the incident while kayaking with her grandson on July 4.
“All I saw was the goose getting drug backwards through the water — feathers flying on the ground,” she said.
When Brannan and her grandson paddled towards the group, the fishermen stowed their equipment and prepared to drive away after hooking at least three geese.
Brannan identified herself as a retired law enforcement officer, and her grandson took a photo of the boat’s hull identification number.
“You gotta step up and stop people from doing the wrong thing,” Brannan said. “We have just a little slice of heaven that people don’t have in other places. To see that happen on the lake — I thought, ‘Nah, not here.’”
Brannan reported the incident to boat patrol at Santa Margarita Lake and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
She also posted photos of the incident on Nextdoor, which soon went viral, she said.
“I didn’t (post the photos) with any mal-intent,” Brannan said. “I was just hoping someone would say, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s my son. I’ll talk to Junior and we’ll get this stopped.’”
People recognized the subjects in the photos, Brannan said, and she was informed that two of the fishermen were in high school and one was in college. Nextdoor deleted the post and removed her from the application for five days, she said.
Brannan said she was surprised that the post was deleted, and she hopes the perpetrators are held accountable for their actions.
“I figured it was young adults acting poorly and needed to be called on it,” she said. “If my kids were doing something like that, I’d want to know so I could explain to them how wrong what they’re doing is. It was not about hanging them out to dry.”
Brannan encouraged witnesses to report incidents of animal cruelty.
“This is a good example of use your camera, take pictures, turn it in to the authorities and let them do their thing,” Brannan said. “People are watching. That is one good thing about social media.”
