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I’ve worked in wildlife rehab. We never killed the animals.

The ones who killed the goose were likely state wildlife officers. They do sometimes kill animals they think are nuisance animals.

The animals should be taken to a licensed wildlife rehabber so they can be properly fed and handled so they can make it in the wild and fend for themslves. Often, it is done in stages with one rehabber handling early stages and another “wilding” them. In my state, the licensed rehabbers are volunteers and very, very good and truly love the animals and know what they are doing.

Too often, amateurs release animals which have not been properly “wilded” and they can be too tame, look to humans for food, and become nuisance animals — then someone calls the state wildlife officers and yes, they kill them. Or the animal cannot fend for itself and starves or meets an untimely end.

Mammals that can carry rabies must be vaccinated and released at a proper location per federal guidelines to block spread of rabies among wildlife. In addition to being taught to find their own food, baby robins (and a number of other birds) need to be acclimated to the night sky so they can migrate in the fall. If an amateur keeps the baby inside all night, well, it won’t make it. Properly raising a baby animal to make it in the wild is not as simple as it seems.

So, if you want the animal to live a good life, call the rehabbers, not the state wildlife officers. They will take good care of it. The state wildlife officers well might kill it.