Fact Checked: 297 birds died in The Netherlands but not due to 5G test

A viral message, making rounds on Facebook in the form of videos and pictures, claims that at least 297 birds died in The Netherlands during an attempt to test 5G connectivity.

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Various posts with the same claim went viral on Facebook as several people shared it multiple times reaching thousands of people.

FACT CHECK

On Fact Checking the viral claim, NewsMobile found that the mysterious bird deaths had actually occurred at a park in Netherland’s The Hague.
The local municipal government on their website stated that the birds began to die on October 19, 2018, and soon after those deaths a dog ban was imposed in Huijgenspark as a precautionary measure.
“Between Friday, 19 October and Saturday, 3 November 2018, 337 dead starlings and 2 dead common wood pigeons were found. The municipality cannot rule out the possibility that the birds were poisoned. This is why the municipality has taken extra precautionary measures and announced a temporary ban on dogs for Huygenspark,” the statement read.
Did 5G test kill the birds?
Coming to the second aspect of the claim, it is still unknown what led to bird death.
The municipal government ruled out the claim that the birds died due to 5G test and said that no such tests took place around Huygenspark.
“Also, there were no 5G tests conducted for a new network for mobile telephones around Huygenspark. This could also be ruled out as a cause of death,” the statement read.
Though Netherland has prioritised the adoption of 5G there is still a long way to go and they have been conducting some tests. On digging more we found that one such test was done on June 28, 2018, and no bird was killed following the test.

“Huawei has demonstrated a live 5G network in The Hague, using 100 MHz of spectrum in the C-band at 3.5 GHz. As the frequencies are not normally available for mobile services in the Netherlands, the Telecom Agency granted a special one-day permit for the demonstration at the KPN office in the Voorburg area. The band is available for local licensing but in allotments far smaller than the full 100 MHz width that is standardized for 5G.”