Christmas goose visitor to Burnley family got in a flap

The family had quite a fright when a Canada goose flew into their house with a thud on Christmas Day evening. They alerted the RSPCA and confined the disorientated bird in their garage.

RSPCA inspector Adam Dickinson attended the property on Boxing Day morning. He said: “The poor goose flew into the wall, tumbled down the extension roof and landed in the garden. It was confused and disoriented and wandered into their garage so they shut it in and called us.”

The bird was taken to the charity’s Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, in Cheshire, where it will be monitored.

The call was one of 11,888 the RSPCA received over Christmas week – more than 70 calls every hour – with 7,119 animals reported to the charity. There were 1,255 cats and 1,790 dogs reported to the RSPCA’s emergency hotline, along with 613 equines and 1,301 wild birds and mammals.

The charity’s vets, vet nurses, animal care assistants and volunteers were busy looking after the thousands of animals in hospitals, animal centres, and wildlife centres across the country.

While inspectors, animal welfare officers and animal collection officers were rescuing animals who had been cruelly abandoned, freeing those who found themselves trapped and in need of a helping hand, or collecting those who needed veterinary treatment or a warm bed for the night.