Animal welfare organization files complaint against TV chef Frank Rosin

«The consumption of crustaceans is legally considered a reasonable grounds for killing, but only if the correct, that is proportionate, method of killing is applied,» explains Evelyn Ofensberger, Head of the Legal Department at the German Animal Welfare Federation.

«Killing crustaceans by frying is a prolonged and agonizing process and is therefore expressly prohibited by law.»

Since pain can in some circumstances trigger a state of rigidity in crustaceans, observers may be left with the false impression that the animals in the pot are already dead. In Rosin’s case, however, it was clearly recognizable that at least one of the crayfish was still alive when Rosin stirred the animals with a cooking spoon some time later. The recording of the programme suggests that the agonizing death of the crayfish must have lasted several minutes. The animal welfare problem extends into the entertainment industry.

Sentience scientifically proven

For the killing of crustaceans, currently only electric stunning or killing in boiling water is permitted, provided the water completely covers the animal's body. Since legislators have now recognized the capacity of crustaceans to feel pain, the forthcoming 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 demonstrated,” explains Katrin Pichl, specialist advisor for wildlife at the German Animal Welfare Federation. “They display complex behaviour, possess a certain degree of consciousness, and have a remarkable capacity for learning.”

Crayfish forced to endure conditions without water

In addition to the suspicion of unlawful killing of the crayfish under Section 18, Paragraph 2 of the Animal Welfare Act, the German Animal Welfare Federation also raises allegations concerning the apparently unlawful storage of the animals. It was observed how Rosin transported the crayfish in a glass bowl without water from the storage room to the kitchen in the broadcasting studio. Live specimens that were not used were set aside on the kitchen worktop in the waterless bowl.

Episode 6 of Season 1 of “Wer kocht das Beste für die Gäste?” was broadcast on Sat.1 on 21 August 2024 and made available for streaming on the platform Joyn. The German Animal Welfare Federation was alerted to the animal welfare violations by an attentive viewer. The Animal rights apply to invertebrates as well.