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Capetonians rally to assist SPCA case against man who 'deliberately' killed two goslings

The SPCA has been overwhelmed by support from Capetonians and experts, who have offered to assist with the case against a motorist who ran over and killed two Egyptian goslings in the Cape Town CBD.

After the incident was captured on video and camera on Friday, a forensic videographer offered expertise for any court appearances free of charge, Cape of Good Hope SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abraham said on Monday.

Others said they would help with a private prosecution if the State chose not to proceed with the case, she said.

"We have had such great support... it says a lot about Cape Town and the community.

"While one person may have no heart, there are so many others rallying together and saying that this is not right and we need to do something." 

A passerby had been filming a family of Egyptian geese - two adults and six goslings - which were crossing the road at the intersection of Spin Street and Adderley Street, when they were allegedly intentionally run over by the driver of the vehicle.

The animals had been using a pedestrian crossing.

READ: SPCA to open case against CT man who 'deliberately' killed two goslings

The SPCA dispatched representatives to the scene to retrieve the remains of the goslings, which would have been taken in for a post-mortem and used for evidence. But the remains had already been disposed of by the time they arrived. 

Abraham said the adult geese were very distressed at the time and did not want to leave the scene.

"Egyptian geese are particularly bonded with their young," she explained. 

Using the vehicle registration, they identified the owner and were still trying to establish whether that was the same person who had been in the driver's seat.

The SPCA was compiling the docket and would soon open a case of animal cruelty at the Cape Town Central police station.

Among those who posted the incident on social media was WCED ministerial spokesperson Jessica Shelver, who described the incident as "heartless". 

Shelver posted on Facebook that the driver had bumped into the geese on purpose. 

According to Abraham, the vehicle's windows were down at the time and witnesses said that they tried to prevent the man from driving away.

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