The German Animal Welfare Federation has filed a misdemeanor complaint against Frank Rosin on suspicion of violating the Animal Welfare Act. In the show “Who cooks the best for the guests?”, the well-known chef threw numerous live crayfish into a heated pot of hot fat.
“Although the consumption of crayfish is legally considered a “reasonable cause” for killing, this only applies if the correct, i.e. proportionate, method of killing is used,” explains Evelyn Ofensberger, Head of the Legal Department at the German Animal Welfare Federation. “Killing crustaceans by frying is protracted and painful and is therefore expressly prohibited by law.”
As pain can trigger rigor mortis in the crustaceans, observers may get the false impression that the animals are already dead in the pot. In Rosin's case, however, it was clearly visible that at least one of the crayfish was still alive when Rosin stirred the animals with a wooden spoon some time later. The broadcast recording suggests that the agonizing death of the crayfish must have lasted several minutes.
SENTIENCE OF TOE-FOOTED CRAYFISH SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN
The only method currently permitted for killing crustaceans, apart from electrocution, is to kill them in boiling water, whereby the water must completely cover the animal's body. As the legislator has now recognized that crustaceans are sensitive to pain, the upcoming amendment to the Animal Welfare Act will also prohibit killing in boiling water without prior stunning. “Even if pain and stress are less easy to recognize in aquatic animals, the sentience of decapod crustaceans has now been scientifically proven,” explains Katrin Pichl, wildlife expert at the German Animal Welfare Federation. “They exhibit complex behavior, have a certain degree of consciousness and have a remarkable ability to learn.”
CRAYFISH HAD TO ENDURE WITHOUT WATER
In addition to the suspected unlawful killing of the crayfish in accordance with Section 18 (2) of the Animal Welfare Act, the German Animal Welfare Federationhas also raised accusations regarding the obviously unlawful storage of the animals. Rosin was seen transporting the crayfish in a glass bowl without water from the storage room to the kitchen in the broadcasting studio. He set aside unused live specimens in the waterless bowl on the kitchen worktop.
Episode 6 from season 1 of “Wer kocht das Beste für die Gäste?” was broadcast on Sat.1 on August 21, 2024 and made available to watch on the streaming platform Joyn. The German Animal Welfare Federation was alerted by an attentive viewer to the illegal practices.
