The 22nd edition of Dead Duck Day, honoring the mallard duck that became known to science as the first (documented) ‘victim’ of homosexual necrophilia in that species, on June 5th, 2017 attracted 85 spectators, a record number since 1996.
Right outside the Natural History Museum in Rotterdam, the ceremony included (1) the first posthumous public appearance of the world’s second officially homosexual necrophiliac duck (now a museum specimen), (2) The special ‘Dead Duck Day Message’, delivered in person by Henk Wolf who was hit in the eye by an Eurasian coot (Fulica atra) and who wrote the book ‘Een meerkoet in mijn oog‘ [A coot in my eye] about the dramatic consequences, and (3) the Moldavian poet Dumitru Crudu, poet-in-residence of the 48th Poetry International Festival Rotterdam, who read a poem about his encounters with ducks in Rotterdam.
Traditonally, Dead Duck Day also commemorated the billions of other birds that die(d) from colliding with glass buildings, and was topped off with a six-course duck dinner.
Here is a series of pictures, taken by Maarten Laupman, that captured the performers and the audience.
BONUS: Atlas Obscura’s report on Dead Duck Day.