An animal welfare charity is investigating an “appalling” act of cruelty on a tiny gosling in Rainham which left the bird’s intestines “hanging out”.
The RSPCA attended the incident on Monday (April 26) after someone found the alive young goose on Bretons Lake.
RSPCA inspector Siobhan Trinnaman said the bird had been abused with a broken wooden broom stick, and had died by the time the charity arrived.
She said: “This is one of the most shocking and appalling cases I’ve ever been faced with. I have no words for it."
She added: “I am absolutely horrified by this case and it’s incredibly important that we find the person or people responsible for such abhorrent cruelty.”
Officers returned to the location on Tuesday to check all of the other birds at the lake, and found a family of Greylag geese with young that appear to be the same age; they believe the gosling was from this brood.
The RSPCA has asked anyone with information to call its appeal line on 0300 123 8018.
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