A DEAD goose has been found dumped in a bin bag in a road in Radcliffe.

It is the sixth bird to be found dead under suspicious circumstances in the area in the past three weeks.

The bird was discovered in Cross Lane last Thursday morning by a resident driving to work.

It appeared to have been strangled and had its head tied in a black bin bag.

Sharon Kelly, of Cross Lane, spotted the dead goose on her way to work in a vet surgery at around 7am.

“At first I thought it was a teddy bear or some rubbish because it was dark but when I looked closer it was a goose in a plastic bag,” she said.

Miss Kelly, aged 38, lay the goose in the back of her car and took it to the surgery where she works as a veterinary nurse before reporting the incident to police and the RSPCA.

Miss Kelly said: “I didn’t want any of the children walking to school to see it. It seems whoever did it used the bag to suffocate or strangle it like a noose then tightened it. There was blood coming out of its beak.”

The incident adds further mystery to a spate of animal deaths. PCSOs from Radcliffe Police discovered a headless swan and four other dead birds that appeared to have been poisoned in the Manchester, Bury and Bolton canal in January.

Miss Kelly believes the latest incident was a deliberate attack.

“Geese are friendly birds and if you have food they will play up to you.

“It’s absolutely disgraceful to see such disregard for an animal’s life,” she said.

According to Miss Kelly, the RSPCA advised her to keep the bird for a week but no further contact has been made since.

“I asked them if there is anything they can do to protect the birds but they are so blasé about it,” she added.

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “It isn’t a priority and although it’s an animal that has died under suspicious circumstances it is not a suffering animal.”