Man Killed 2 Canada Geese In Warminster And Then Ate Them: PD

WARMINSTER TOWNSHIP, PA — A 72-year-old man faces animal cruelty charges after allegedly shooting and killing two Canada geese that he later ate, a criminal complaint states.

Carmelo Sansalone, 72, of Warminster, was arraigned Tuesday before District Judge Christopher O’Neill on a felony and misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty and related summaries including multiple counts of unlawful killing of protected birds.

Sansalone, who recently lived in Hatboro, was taken into custody for questioning on Sept. 1 after a traffic stop in Horsham, according to the criminal complaint.

Warminster Police responded on Aug. 27 to a report of a man shooting at the protected birds on the Burpee Seed property in the 400 block of Park Avenue, a highly traveled road, the complaint states.

When police arrived the man was gone, but police officers found evidence of a shooting including spent shotgun shell wadding, a shell and 12-gauge birdshot in the parking lot of the business, as well as numerous loose bird feathers.

They also observed three Canada geese, one that was injured and survived the shooting, police said.

According to the criminal complaint, a Burpee Seed employee recorded the aftermath, including a man carrying away a goose. The employee reported hearing a single gunshot from outside the building and saw the suspect stepping into a truck and driving off.

In a police interview, Sansalone told police that he was driving by the business when he saw some geese apparently dead on the ground, so he stopped and picked them up, the criminal complaint states.

Sansalone allegedly told police that he didn’t know what happened to the geese, but that he took them home and ate them, the complaint reads. When police asked him about the gun, he ended the interview.

Canada geese are protected under federal and state that state it is illegal to harm, kill, capture, or possess them, or to disturb nests and eggs without a special government permit, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states.