For the term "turkey" in the general sport of bowling, see strike (bowling)#Consecutive strikes.

Turkey bowling is a sport

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

 which is based on ordinary bowling

Bowling

Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

: a frozen turkey

Turkey (bird)

A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...

 serves as a bowling ball

Bowling ball

A bowling ball is a spherical ball made from plastic, reactive resin, urethane or a combination of these materials which is used in the sport of bowling. Ten-pin bowling balls generally have a set of three holes drilled in them, one each for the ring and middle finger, and one for the thumb;...

 and 10 plastic bottles of soft drink

Soft drink

A soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...

s or water are the bowling pin

Bowling pin

Bowling pins are the target of the bowling ball in various bowling games including tenpins, five-pins, duckpins, and candlepins. In the US, pin specifications for standard tenpins are set by the United States Bowling Congress. Pins are 4.75 inches wide at their widest point and tall...

s. The turkey is bowled down a smooth surface, for example, ice. It is commonly associated with Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...

.
Turkey bowling is popular in minor league

Minor league

Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...

 ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

The original variant involves turkey bowling in an aisle of a grocery store

Grocery store

A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...

. A Derrick Johnson claims to have invented turkey bowling in 1988 when he worked as a grocery clerk at a Newport Beach Lucky's branch, while observing a manager slide a frozen turkey across the floor and accidentally topple a soda bottle.

Derrick became a self-appointed commissioner

Commissioner

Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....

 of the "Poultry

Poultry

Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...

 Bowlers Association" and codified the rules and terminology, such as "the fowl

Fowl

Fowl is a word for birds in general but usually refers to birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl and the waterfowl...

 line" (cf. "foul line

Foul line

In sports and games, foul line can refer to*baseball's foul line*basketball's free throw line*table shuffleboard's foul line*ten-pin bowling's foul line**the similar line in candlepin bowling*the foul line for the long jump...

"), "the gobbler

Gobbler

Gobbler is a 1981 computer game for the Apple II family of computers, published by On-Line Systems .-Gameplay:...

 (three strikes in a row; cf. turkey (bowling)), and "the wishbone

Wishbone

Wishbone may refer to:* The wishbone, a Y-shaped bone found in birds* Wishbone suspension, an automobile suspension design.* Wishbone , an children's educational television show...

" (a 7-10 split).

Notable occurrences

Turkey bowling was featured in the 1995 novel Bloodsucking Fiends

Bloodsucking Fiends

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story is the third novel by Christopher Moore, published in 1995. It combines elements of the supernatural and of the romance novel.-Plot summary:...

: A Love Story by Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore

Christopher Moore is an American writer of comic fantasy. He grew up in Mansfield, Ohio, and attended Ohio State University and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California....

, where it was the favorite sport of "The Animals", a wild group of night grocery stockers (continued in the sequel You Suck

You Suck

You Suck: A Love Story is the tenth novel by Christopher Moore.It is a sequel to the author's Bloodsucking Fiends, from 1995, and was released on January 16, 2007 by William Morrow and Company. It is followed by Bite Me, the third novel in the trilogy.- Plot :The story of You Suck continues...

: A Love Story).

Episode 14 of 10 Items or Less TV series was Turkey Bowling.

Every Thanksgiving morning, Cleveland's Fox affiliate WJW-TV does its annual Turkey Bowl from a Giant Eagle

Giant Eagle

Giant Eagle, Inc., is a supermarket chain with stores in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. The company was founded in 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Supermarket News ranked Giant Eagle No. 21 in the 2009 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2008...

 store in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 area. In the 2010 edition it was hosted by morning features and man about town reporter Kenny Crumpton and morning meterologist Angelica Campos. In WJW-TV's version people win prizes anything ranging from Giant Eagle Gift Cards to monetary prizes.

Controversy

Animal rights

Animal rights

Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...

 proponents, who oppose the use of animals in sports, claim that turkey bowling is disrespectful to animals and sends mixed messages which may encourage violence to animals or people. Another objection is perceived disrespect to the central attribute of Thanksgiving. Animal sanctuaries have rescued live turkeys from turkey bowling events. In 2003, an upcoming event for the title of UK Great Turkey Bowling Champion at M.E.N. Arena was protested against by animal rights

Animal rights

Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...

campaigners. As a result, plastic turkeys were used instead of real ones.