A man has been accused of beating a Canada Goose to death with a golf club at a golf course in New York after witnesses said the golfer allegedly struck the animal “several times with his club,Jonathan Dale Benton” officials said.

The Putnam County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) responded to Putnam County Golf Course in New York after environmental officials received a report of a man beating the goose, the county SPCA said in a statement on Facebook Monday.

The Putnam County SPCA charged the man with a misdemeanor, accusing him of one count of animal cruelty, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation police issued him a summons, the county SPCA said, per the Rockland/Westchester Journal News, part of the USA TODAY Network.

The district attorney's office did not immediately respond to messages about whether the man had been charged.

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Witnesses say the man hit the goose ‘several times’

Witnesses said the man then allegedly hit the goose “several times with his club” after the goose was hit by a golf ball and was dazed, the SPCA said. 

Witnesses said the man walked away from the goose and returned when he noticed the animal was still moving. He then came back and hit the goose again, according to witnesses.

The SPCA said the witnesses identified the man when they interviewed the staff and people at the golf course.