Canadian Goose strangled
Hamburg, NY (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, May 20, 2006
County: Erie

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Harry Pulsipher

The fairground in Hamburg has gone from a Canada goose haven to something less hospitable in the past week, according to witnesses and Hamburg police. Police have charged a Michigan man with getting out of a car while leaving Fairgrounds Gaming & Racing and strangling one of the geese on May 20.

Witnesses also say that a goose was throttled by a man after it landed alongside the grounds' harness racing track Thursday night. Hamburg police on Friday were trying to sort out conflicting reports about that incident, with some saying an injured pigeon was removed from the track area.

In the May 20 incident, police have charged 25-year-old Harry Pulsipher of Bitely, Mich., with cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor under the agriculture and markets law. A witness said he saw Pulsipher "grab a Canada goose by the neck, and strangle it," according to Hamburg Assistant Police Chief Carmine Kesner. The witness followed Pulsipher to where the Michigan man was staying, reported it to police and later made a positive ID, and Pulsipher was charged, Kesner said. Pulsipher posted bail and was released.

The situation near the track on Thursday was still unclear, Kesner said. His department is investigating, as is the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Erie County SPCA.
Buffalo Raceway General Manager Jim Mango said he was walking through the race track at the time, and that he was later told there had been "an incident with security and some animal." He said he was unaware of anything else about the incident.

Debra Gacek, an off-duty Erie County sheriff's deputy, said she saw the entire incident from the track's clubhouse. She said she saw a goose land near the edge of the track between races, and a man got out of a pickup, strike the bird with a jacket and grabbed it by the neck. Another clubhouse customer, Edward Lichota, said he missed the start of the incident but saw a man carrying a Canada goose away by the neck - and the goose wasn't struggling.

References

• Buffalo News - May 27, 2006

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