A 16-year-old boy has been charged with injuring a bird after surveillance footage caught him instigating an attack on a nesting goose, police say.
The Wildlife Act charge carries a $345 fine that must be paid or disputed within 30 days.
The attack happened Apr. 27 in an area of the Seven Oaks Mall parkade where geese gather every year to nest. A security guard found the goose covered in blood later that morning, still protecting her eggs despite her injuries.
An investigation by the B.C. Conservation Service and Abbotsford police identified two 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old as the attackers and spoke with their families.
The teenage boys were remorseful about the incident, officers said.
Since the attack, the mother goose’s goslings have hatched and the family was safely relocated to Mill Lake.
