WSUCougar
11-16-2005, 04:01 PM
Guess the sparrow was a cribbage player...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- The Dutch animal protection agency said Tuesday it is investigating the shooting death of a sparrow that knocked over 23,000 dominoes during an attempt to set a world record.
The ill-fated bird flew into an exposition center, threatening to derail a world record Monday, before it was chased into a corner and shot by an exterminator with an air rifle.
The bird was a common house sparrow -- a species placed on the national endangered list last year.
"Under Dutch law, you need a permit to kill this kind of bird, and a permit can only be granted when there's a danger to public health or a crop," agency spokesman Niels Dorland said.
"That was not the case. I might add, is it really necessary to kill a bird that knocked over a few dominoes for a game?"
Dorland said the agency plans to submit the case to national prosecutors. The incident came as the national birdwatchers association was preparing a campaign to draw attention to the rapidly declining number of sparrows in the country.
The Endemol production company, which organized the Domino Day event, defended the killing. The organizers wanted to break their own Guinness World Record of 3,992,397 dominoes set last year by toppling a chain of 4,321,000 blocks.
Around 200,000 dominoes were left to go, and the bird knocked down 23,000 of them.
Endemol spokesman Jeroen van Waardenberg said organizers made a "split-second" decision to shoot down the bird.
"That bird was flying around and knocking over a lot of dominoes. More than 100 people from 12 countries had worked for more than a month setting them up," he said.
And since when are common house sparrows endangered? I've got a few dozen chirping around here that I could ship overseas in the interest of international peace. MIJB, I want an answer...I want the truth!
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- The Dutch animal protection agency said Tuesday it is investigating the shooting death of a sparrow that knocked over 23,000 dominoes during an attempt to set a world record.
The ill-fated bird flew into an exposition center, threatening to derail a world record Monday, before it was chased into a corner and shot by an exterminator with an air rifle.
The bird was a common house sparrow -- a species placed on the national endangered list last year.
"Under Dutch law, you need a permit to kill this kind of bird, and a permit can only be granted when there's a danger to public health or a crop," agency spokesman Niels Dorland said.
"That was not the case. I might add, is it really necessary to kill a bird that knocked over a few dominoes for a game?"
Dorland said the agency plans to submit the case to national prosecutors. The incident came as the national birdwatchers association was preparing a campaign to draw attention to the rapidly declining number of sparrows in the country.
The Endemol production company, which organized the Domino Day event, defended the killing. The organizers wanted to break their own Guinness World Record of 3,992,397 dominoes set last year by toppling a chain of 4,321,000 blocks.
Around 200,000 dominoes were left to go, and the bird knocked down 23,000 of them.
Endemol spokesman Jeroen van Waardenberg said organizers made a "split-second" decision to shoot down the bird.
"That bird was flying around and knocking over a lot of dominoes. More than 100 people from 12 countries had worked for more than a month setting them up," he said.
And since when are common house sparrows endangered? I've got a few dozen chirping around here that I could ship overseas in the interest of international peace. MIJB, I want an answer...I want the truth!