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Q: Now she’s gone. What happened a week ago Wednesday?

A: I was sitting at the kitchen table, looking down at my driveway and saw a dark truck pull up at the gate. They said, “We heard you had a goose — can we look in your barn?” So my husband Donald opened up the door and Lucy came out, she was out for 10, 15 minutes and then she walked back into the barn. The [wildlife conservation] officers said “We’re going to have to confiscate her.” I said “No, you’re not taking her. I’ll do whatever I can to keep her.” And I was begging and pleading at this time and crying profusely.

Q: Was she scared?

A: She was scared. She’s never been confined. I tried to console her, rubbing the front of her neck. I was just frantic with fear and bawling. The look on her was like ‘What’s going on?’

Q: Now a week later, you’ve heard she’s going to be euthanized?

A: [The man at the sanctuary] said there’s a very strong possibility she’ll be euthanized by the end of the week. I had been told she’d be taken to a sanctuary where I could visit her. The day before yesterday they moved her. In the next few weeks, they’re going to try to find a place for her and integrate her into the wild. She’ll never go. She’s imprinted herself on me.

Q: Do you think there’s any merit to wildlife laws that require wild animals to be kept that way?

A: There is merit to them. But they’re saying that I had her confined, that she wasn’t allowed to fly, but she was. Maybe this summer when the geese came back, she may have flown with them. I’ve given her every opportunity and if she did, all the power to my girl. But she wasn’t ready. Or maybe she decided, I’m happy as a frickin’ clam right here.”

National Post

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