Jeep driver 'deliberately striking' geese in Hauppauge; SPCA offers $2,000 reward

The Suffolk County SPCA is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a driver who authorities said has been "deliberately striking" geese this month with a white Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The first hit took place about 10 p.m. on April 4 on Wireless Boulevard in Hauppauge. A second took place at the same location last Wednesday around 9:50 p.m., followed by two additional goose strikes also on Wireless, the SPCA said.

Suffolk SPCA Chief Roy Gross told Newsday on Tuesday that investigators believed 12 or more birds had been struck.

"We know birds were killed, we don’t know how many more were maimed, but it’s at least 12 geese in all," he said.

Gross said an attack on each bird carried a maximum of 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Gross said the SPCA had video of the strikes.

He said, "It’s beyond words, how someone can do something like this ... An innocent animal, how do you do that? It’s disgusting."

The sites are adjacent to the Suffolk County Department of Social Services and other commercial buildings.

"The driver appears to return to the area and slow down when observing geese, suggesting intentional and repeated acts of cruelty," the SPCA said in a statement. Animal cruelty is "a serious crime," the agency noted.

Anyone with information about the goose strikes may contact the Suffolk SPCA at 631-382-7722. All calls will remain confidential.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.