Horror as man stamps on pigeon in Inverness
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The head of an animal charity has condemned a man who jumped on a pigeon until it died on a busy Inverness street.
CCTV footage of the man, dressed in a red tartan jacket, stamping on the injured bird on Stothers Lane have been roundly criticised by the public.
The incident happened on Tuesday morning outside Pizza Hut, as many people were walking between the bus station and the town centre.
Witnesses said that as the man was stamping and jumping on the bird as it was trying to get away, but was too injured to fly off.
Concerned animal lovers had already called Scottish SPCA officer to come to the aid of the injured pigeon when the man took matters into his own hands and killed it.
In a heart-felt Facebook post, one woman, Jemma Baillie said: "Does anyone know this man? Killed a pigeon this morning by repeatedly stamping on its head in Strothers Lane. Poor thing had a sore wing and he was told to leave it as SSPCA were on the way, and could either fix him or put him to sleep humanely."
Speaking to Highland News, Ms Baillie, who works in Pizza Hut, said her Facebook plea had encouraged a number of people come forward with names of who they thought the man was. She continued: "There was absolutely no need for this to have ever happened.
"We told him the SSPCA were on their way and they would deal with it.
"But he did not listen. There is no need to do this to any animals, it is so horrible. I have no idea why anyone would do this. It makes you wonder just what else he could do."
Scottish SPCA officers have spoken with Ms Baillie and she has shown them CCTV footage of the incident.
Another women who witnessed the bird being killed, Megan Blythe said: "It was horrible, he was just stamping on the bird to kill it. The bird could not get away because it was already injured. One woman went up to him to try and stop him. But he didn't. It was like he was enjoying killing it. It was sick."
Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn said: "This must have been a very upsetting incident for members of the public to witness, not to mention the distress caused to the pigeon.
"We would never recommend people take matters in to their own hands like this. We would have attended and assessed the bird and provided treatment or taken appropriate action.
"Euthanasia should always be carried out humanely by a professional.
"If anyone has any further information on this incident, please contact our confidential animal helpline on 03000 999 999."
