Redditors Learn About House Sparrow That Flew Into Convention Center ln Netherlands And Knocked Over 23,000 Dominos - It Was Killed, Sparking An Animal Rights Controversy

The hunter who killed the bird continued to face threats to his life over a decade after the incident

Maryjane

• Published in Animal Stories
• November 27, 2022

The house sparrow shot and killed by a hunter from the business Duke Faunabeheer on November 14, 2005, in the Frisian Expo Centre in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, as part of Domino Day 2005 preparations is commonly referred to as the domino sparrow (Dutch: dominomus). There were only four days left until Domino Day 2005, when a bird crashed into the structure and fell on a number of domino bricks, forcing 23,000 of the 4.3 million bricks to fall.

The damage was minimal because of the protection gaps that were positioned in between groups of dominoes. To remove the unwanted visitor from the center, Faunabeheer was hired.

The business opted to shoot the sparrow after attempting to catch it using nets and sticks. For their acts against the domino sparrow, Faunabeheer and the production business Endemol were sued by the Dierenbescherming, a significant animal protection organization.

The shooter was given a 200-euro fine by the public prosecutor for killing an animal that belonged to a protected species without permission. Numerous animal rights organizations, well-known blogs like GeenStijl, and radio DJs like Ruud de Wild focused on the incident after it was reported in several Dutch newspapers and television stations.

They argued that murdering an animal to save a television program is a despicable act and accused the gunman of showing no regard for the lives of animals.

More Info: Reddit, Wikipedia

Redditor u/string_in_database shares an interesting piece of information with the TodayILearned subreddit group

A hunting company hired to capture the female house sparrow failed, and finally just shot it, sparking an animal rights controversy

De Wild declared that he would provide a reward of €3,000 to anyone who could knock down the dominoes before the competition began. Nobody was able to do this, though, as the Frisian Expo Center's perimeter security was reinforced as a result of the sparrow incident and the murder threats made against FaunaBeheer, SBS Broadcasting, and Endemol.

The Dutch Public Prosecutor delivered the sparrow to the Natuurhistorisch Museum in Rotterdam a month after the bird passed away, at the request of Kees Moeliker, the museum's curator. And below are some of the comments by Redditors.

Do Not Shoot The Gorilla

Really?

Someone is wondering where the birds go

An amazing domino day

Whatever this Redditor said

So our lives appears to be a short space

It does have some interesting mates in the same display

There's no sparrows to be found anywhere

I thought I'd gotten it out after some time

How on earth did a little bird knock over that amount of pizzas?

There were birds inside the crystal palace during the the great exhibition

You can see the duck who performed the act

Cognitive dissonance is one heck of a drug

Just pull a few in places

How can you differentiate one sparrow from another?

Meaning sparrow in Dutch so domino must means Domino sparrow

This OP's bird likes works of art that are set to be knocked down

It takes a lot more time and wand effort

That is just how the tile falls

It is currently set up in the museum in Rotterdam

The museum preserved the dead bird and put it on display in a house sparrow exhibition from November 2006 to May 2007. The bird was then transferred to a display that featured deceased creatures that had a history.

In 2019, it was revealed that the hunter who killed the bird continued to face threats to his life almost 15 years after the incident. 

Maryjane