COOPER CITY, FLA. (WSVN) - Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives are asking for the public’s help to identify those responsible for the killing of 30 Egyptian geese in Cooper City.
According to investigators, the incident occurred near Southwest 49th Street and 120th Avenue, at around 7:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Brian Schafler spoke with 7News on Sunday about what he described as a bird massacre.
“Where we live, there are maybe, like, 100 geese behind our house, so it was definitely done intentionally,” he said.
Witnesses reported seeing an off-road vehicle, possibly occupied by four to five young adults, running over the animals in a lake easement between the Flamingo Gardens West subdivision and the Countryside Shops Plaza.
The vehicle was last seen entering the Flamingo Townhomes subdivision.
Detectives have obtained video footage of the ATV-style vehicle and individuals in the area and hope the public can help identify them.
“Investigators are policing video of the subjects believed to be involved in the crime,” said BSO spokesperson Gerdy St. Louis.
Brian spoke with 7News again on Thursday, this time alongside his wife, Serena Schafler. The couple said they watched helplessly from their backyard as it all happened, on a strip of land outside their fence.
“We heard a lot of, like, a big ruckus, like an ATV type of vehicle. We heard a lot of commotion with birds and ducks, so we looked out, and you see this ATV vehicle mowing, purposefully mowing down these Egyptian geese.”
“And I screamed loud, ‘Please leave them. What are you guys doing?’ And they laughed, they screamed bad words to me,” said Serena.
Brian recorded video of the dead and injured birds.
“There has to be 50 of them that are dead,” he said in the video.
Brian said the field is normally a peaceful refugefor all sorts of birds and wildlife.
BSO detectives called the killings cruel and disturbing.
“Egyptian geese are protected birds, and killing these animals is a crime,” said St. Louis.
“Maybe somebody knows something, and they’re not saying anything at this moment. I would highly advise that someone say something, because this is not going away,” said Brian.
The Schaflers said they cannot forget the cruelty and the deliberate nature of what they saw, as well as the sight of dead and injured birds.
“There’s no excuse to take anything’s life in vain, to do it purposely,” said Brian. “I think we all have our due diligence to help either Mother Nature or help somebody, for that fact: Obviously a human, to sit there and look and laugh at something, that’s despicable, and to do this on purpose is even worse.”
The Schaflers’ daughter has created a GoFundMe page “to collect donations to support local wildlife sanctuaries, shelters, and rescues.” If you would like to make a donation, click here.
If you have any information on this crime, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
Anyone with information can also contact BSO Detective Charoudis Dimos with the Special Victims Unit at 954-321-4243 or through the SaferWatch app.
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