A BANGOR man has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the plight of a lonely goose after finding it in a state of “distress” next to the bloodied, limp dead body of its mate.

Mitchell Bradley-Williams, of Maesgeirchen fears the birds, which were a popular sight along the Beach Road, in Bangor, might have been the victims of cruelty.

Mitchell, his father David Williams and children in the the area would regularly feed the two friendly geese.

On Sunday, however, when Mitchell was passing along Beach Road, he spotted one of the geese calling out in a state of distress.

Further along, on the shoreline, he found the dead body of the other bird with blood oozing from its beak and its neck badly twisted.

“I was so shocked. I tried to get close to the other bird. It would normally come to me. It would literally stand on my foot to be fed. It is usually very tame,” he said.

“It was obviously very distressed, terrified and calling out. It seemed to be quite confused. It seems to be wary of people now.

“My dad and I have been looking out for these birds for about three or four years. We would regularly feed them. They would recognise us from right across the bay. They had real character.

“I would often see families with young children coming down to feed them too.

“It looked to me more like a case of cruelty to me, not a natural death.

“I think it might have had some sort of blunt trauma to the head as there was blood coming from its beak.

“I called 101 and also spoke to the RSPB. There are a lot of people in the Beach Road area who will be very upset about this, so I have decided to do something to raise awareness of the situation.”

Mitchell is organising a gathering this Sunday at about noon on Beach Road, Bangor.

He said: “I want to spread the word to raise awareness and to show support for the remaining goose.

“We need to keep an eye on it to help keep it safe – and other birds and wildlife in the area. You can often see swans down there”.

Mitchell has set up an email address (bangorgeese@gmail.com) for people to contact him and I also plan to use #BangorGeese on Facebook.

He added: “North Wales police rural crimes has now got back to me and I will be meeting with them.”

A spokesman for RSPCA Cymru said: “We are saddened to hear that a goose has been found dead in Bangor and would urge anyone to contact us if they have any evidence of any suspicious activity.”

“It is a criminal offence for anyone to cause unnecessary suffering to an animal whether that animal be a pet or a wild animal.”

“If anyone has any information, they can call 0300 1234 999.”