Overview

• Police shot the European catfish at Brombachsee during a mid-June music festival after it attacked five swimmers and caused bite wounds that required on-site medical care.
• Gasthof Zum Goldenen Lamm in Wettelsheim has turned the 90-kilogram carcass into roughly 120 portions of fillet priced at €22.50 each, half of which have already been sold or frozen.
• PETA’s Jana Hoger argues the killing violated German animal protection law and says nonlethal precautions such as signage or area closures could have avoided the fish’s death.
• Experts and the Landesfischereiverband Bayern note that catfish attacks on humans are extraordinarily rare and almost always defensive during the late-June spawning season.
• The episode continues to draw widespread online reaction with memes, media coverage and ongoing debates over emergency response protocols and wildlife protection.