Charges against Frank Rosin

BONN: The German Animal Welfare Association has filed a misdemeanour complaint against Frank Rosin on suspicion of violating the Animal Welfare Act. In the programme "Who cooks the best for the guests?", the well-known chef had thrown numerous live crayfish into a heated pot of hot fat.

"The consumption of crayfish does count as a "reasonable cause" for killing by law, but only if the correct, i.e. proportionate, method of killing is used," explains Evelyn Ofensberger, Head of the Legal Department at the German Animal Welfare Association. "Killing crustaceans by frying is protracted and agonising and is therefore expressly prohibited by law."

As pain can cause the crayfish to go rigid, observers may get the false impression that the animals in the pot are already dead. 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 recording of the programme suggests that the agonising death of the crayfish must have lasted several minutes.

The sentience of decapod crustaceans scientifically proven

The only method currently authorised 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 recognised the pain-sensitivity of crustaceans, the upcoming amendment to the Animal Welfare Act will also prohibit killing in boiling water without prior anaesthesia. "Even if pain and stress are less easy to recognise in aquatic animals, the sentience of decapod crustaceans has now been scientifically proven," explains Katrin Pichl, wildlife expert at the German Animal Welfare Association. "They exhibit complex behaviour, have a certain degree of consciousness and have a remarkable ability to learn."

Crabs 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 Association has also levelled 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 21 August 2024 and made available to watch on the streaming platform Joyn. The German Animal Welfare Association was alerted to the anti-animal behaviour by an attentive viewer.