PETA Files Complaint Against Competitive Fishing Event in Kemmern

Participants in Bavaria were tasked with catching the heaviest fish possible.

The anglers who caught the heaviest fish were awarded the title “King Fisher” and were “honoured” with a royal chain.

Competitive fishing events constitute a violation of animal protection law. PETA therefore filed a criminal complaint last week with the Bamberg public prosecutor's office against the organisers, event hosts, and all adult participants. The organisation is calling on state and federal policymakers to explicitly prohibit “King Fishing” and all competitive fishing events by law before they take place.

“A competition is not a ‘legitimate reason’ for killing vertebrates and therefore constitutes a violation of animal protection law,” said Dr. Tanja Breining, marine biologist and expert advisor on aquatic animals at PETA. “No one would organise a cat-shooting competition — so why hold a competitive fishing event? Fish also experience fear and pain. We urge the justice system to impose more consistent sanctions against the unlawful killing of vertebrates for entertainment purposes.”

Several public prosecutors' offices confirm violation of animal protection law

PETA has repeatedly achieved sanctions through criminal complaints against participants of trophy, conservation, and other competitive fishing events such as the Königsfischen. In one case involving the Angelsportverein Hockenheim in 2020, the Mannheim Public Prosecutor's Office did close the proceedings due to minor culpability, but noted that the conduct constituted a violation of the Animal Welfare Act: "Punishable under § 17 No. 1 of the Animal Welfare Act. […] Given the age of the accused and their prior clean record, it can be assumed that the initiation of criminal proceedings alone will deter them from committing further offences" (Case No.: 622 Js 21593/20).

PETA also refers to the orders issued by the Public Prosecutor's Offices of Regensburg on 21 March 2018 (Case No. 103 Js 4867/18) and Würzburg on 13 July 2015 (Case No.: 612 Js 12165/14), Münster on 19 March 2014 (Case No.: 540 Js 1433/13), and five additional public prosecutor's offices. These expressly establish that competitive fishing constitutes a criminal offence — even when the fish is subsequently consumed. The use of fish at competitive fishing events does not qualify as a "reasonable cause" within the meaning of the Animal Welfare Act. PETA considers the particular reprehensibility of the conduct of these anglers to lie in the fact that they are aware that such fishing competitions may be criminal and unlawful.

Fish feel pain and need our protection

Fish are curious, sentient vertebrates with individual personalities. They have complex social lives and communicate through a variety of sounds, body language, and scents. They form friendships, learn, pass on their knowledge, and protect their offspring.

International scientific studies confirm that fish feel pain. The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, the Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, also concludes in its statement to the Federal Government that "fish are capable of perceiving pain and should accordingly be treated and protected as sentient beings".

A study by the University of Bonn shows that fish can add and subtract. The study's author, Professor Dr. Vera Schlüssel, concludes from her experiments that humans tend to underestimate other animal species – particularly those that do not belong to the mammals. In her view, the suffering of fish is especially ignored, as they are not "cute" and have neither fur nor feathers.