Sparrow knocks over 23,000 dominoes

A sparrow knocked over 23,000 dominoes in the Netherlands, nearly ruining a world record attempt.

The unfortunate bird flew through an open window at an exposition centre in the Dutch city of Leeuwarden.

Employees of television company Endemol NV had been working for weeks setting up more than four million dominoes in an attempt to break the official Guinness World Record for falling dominoes.

"We were so happy we built 750 safety walls. If we hadn't, we could forget the whole event," explained Robin Paul Weijers of Domino Day 2005.

The bird was shot by an exterminator with an air rifle while cowering in a corner.


http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1612077.html?menu=

Have these people ever heard of screens for the open window.

My goodness the poor bird.........

The bird was shot by an exterminator with an air rifle while cowering in a corner.

I don't think it was the bird's fault that it flew through an open window.......some people are so 'mean".

Prosecution sought in death of domino-toppling sparrow AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch animal protection agency demanded prosecution Tuesday for the shooting 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 Monday in the northern city of Leeuwarden, where employees of TV company Endemol NV had worked for weeks setting up more than 4 million dominoes in an attempt to break the official Guinness World Record for falling dominoes.

The common house sparrow — of a species on the national endangered list — was chased into a corner and shot by an exterminator with an air rifle.

"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," said agency spokesman Niels Dorland. "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?" he asked.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2005-11-15-domino-bird_x.htm?csp=34

Thanks Casshew, I feel better now that I am not the only one who had a "problem" with killing an innocent bird because it happen to fly into an open window.

Throw the book at the whole lot of them..........

He said the company was considering some kind of memorial or mention for the dead bird during the television broadcast Friday.

Good at least they recognize that the bird gave up its life(unwillingly)so they can set their record. I hope it is a heartfelt memorial............
Dorland, the animal protection group spokesman, scoffed.

"I think they were awfully fast to pull out a rifle. If a person started knocking over a few dominoes they wouldn't shoot him would they?"

The guy makes a very good point............they "murdered" the bird for the sake of a few dominoes.
Hans Peeters, director of the Netherlands Bird Protection agency, said the killing was uncalled for.

"They could have captured it or sedated it or something," he said.

Yeah, no kidding, they did have that rifle handy...........there are other alternatives. So the bird could still live.

Justice for the bird...........

What a cold-hearted story. Catch the poor bird, put it outside and shut the damn window. I hope they prosecute them as far as the law allows.:clap:

Yeah, that would be the civil and fair and legal thing to do, after all they had the window open.

But these "Rambo" type of people, just had to do the violent thing, not the right thing.

I do hope they get a jail sentence out of this, I really do hope so.....