FIVE young geese are left orphaned after thugs shot dead their parents at a Valleys pond.

The mother Canada goose and one of her six goslings were killed at Cefn Golau pond, Tredegar, with an air-gun.

An autopsy at Valley Vets of Cardiff showed the mother had a puncture wound to the head and the gosling had one in the neck.

The male of the family was already dead, having been shot in the second week of May.

Four of the goslings were subsequently rounded up for their own safety and taken to the National Swan Rescue centre in Surrey, although one of them still remains at large at the pond.

RSPCA inspectors will go back to the pond in an attempt to track down the gosling as its chances of surviving in the wild without its parents are very slim.

The birds were killed over the weekend along with a large carp, which also had airgun pellet puncture wounds.

The killings follow the death of a swan that was stoned in a canal in Cwmbran in April of this year.

The RSPCA is now appealing for anyone with information to contact them so they can prosecute the culprits.

RSPCA officer for south and east Wales Keith Hogben said: "It seems there are people going up to the pond in Cefn Golau and taking pot shots at the animals.

"They are easy targets because Canada geese don't hide in the reeds like ducks.

"In the last few years there has been an increase in the number of animals shot with airguns."

Tredegar councillor Brian Thomas said: "This is beyond belief. I just can't understand the mentality of the people who are doing this.

"Many of these youngsters feel they have nothing better to do than destroy things.

"They should be dealt with by stiff sentences." Anyone with information is urged to call the RSPCA national cruelty and advice line on 0870 55 55 999.