Nesting goose tackled, punched, kicked in Maryland Burger King drive-thru
A man allegedly attacked a goose that is nesting in a drive-thru at a Harford County fast food restaurant, which upset people who witnessed it on Saturday morning.
For the second year in a row, a pair of geese made the Burger King on Emmorton Road in Bel Air a home for nesting.
A woman who didn't want to be identified said she was picking up an Uber Eats order just after midnight, when she saw a man go after one of the geese.
"It was actually a person who had tackled a goose and was holding it down with his left arm and punching it with his right arm repeatedly," the woman said. "The sound of his cries will haunt me forever. It was really traumatizing."
She said the man then got up and kicked the bird, while passengers in the car laughed and cheered him on. She took a picture of his gray Volkswagen before he left.
"I'm really shocked that they found this entertaining, to hurt an innocent animal," the woman said.
Search for goose attack suspect
Maryland State Police responded to the call, but said when troopers arrived, the suspects were gone, and the goose appeared uninjured.
Meanwhile, while Burger King reviews surveillance video to try to identify the person responsible, the community has taken matters into its own hands.
"It's just upsetting, it's upsetting," said customer Bela Diaz.
"We love nature, because nature is the beauty of life," said Mahendra Deshar, the owner of neighboring Sizzling Bombay.
According to the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1918, it is illegal to harm, trap, or kill geese.
"There's no reason to harm animals, and it's a shame that you had to stoop that low to do that," said Austin Amrhein, the general manager of Burger King.
Maryland State Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to call them.
Nesting in a Burger King drive-thru
The geese perched at the Bel Air Burger King are typically a topic of conversation.
"All day, every day, the customers are coming by asking, 'Hey, do you know you have geese out there? Do you know what's going on?'" Amrhein said.
They found the Burger King as a safe place to nest, while providing customers with dinner and a show.
"The male is the security guard. If you go too close to the female, he says, 'Get out of here,'" Deshar said.
"I think it's really cool. I always like to get close and personal with animals and birds, so I like to get a close-up look at it," Diaz added.
