Goose with dog chain around neck rescued from canal

A goose had to be rescued from a canal after it was found with a dog chain placed deliberately around its neck.

RSPCA officers said the chain was placed on the bird on purpose in an "irresponsible, cruel and foolhardy" attempt to take it for a walk.

The goose was found in the Rochdale Canal at Middleton with the chain attached tightly around the base of its neck by a self-tightening nylon collar.

Stephen Wickham, who carried out the rescue with colleague Mark Buggie, said he "had never seen anything like this before."

The weight of the chain had left the Canada goose unable to swim or fly properly and it was tiring in the water when the RSPCA team arrived on Monday.

Mr Wickham said: "We’ve no idea why anyone would want to catch a goose and put a dog lead on it - we can only guess those responsible may have been trying to take the bird for a walk or attempting to inflict harm on it in some way.

"It was a reckless and unkind thing to do and could easily have resulted in serious injury or death.”

The goose did not have any injuries following the incident and was released in situ under licence from Natural England.

Without one, it is illegal to return them to the wild as they are an invasive species.

All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take them except under licence.

The maximum penalty, if found guilty, is six months in prison and/or an unlimited fine.