Two amateur fishermen caught a 2.2 meter long catfish at Greifensee in Switzerland. To get the “perfect photo,” they subjected the animal to unnecessary torture.
Greifensee – Hobby anglers repeatedly pull huge fish out of the water. Lake Greifensee is just a few kilometers from the Swiss metropolis of Zurich. In this idyll, two hobby fishermen aged 30 and 34 caught a 2.2 meter long catfish and pulled it out of the water – albeit with unfair methods and torture for the fish. The judicial authorities intervened and imposed heavy fines on the two Zurich residents.
Hobby fishermen catch 2.2 meter long catfish and torture the animal – for photos
According to one, the two men from Zurich had it in August of last year Report from the Swiss newspaper NZZ aiming for a big catch. They deliberately headed for a specific region of Lake Greifen, which is apparently home to particularly large fish. In fact, a huge animal bit, as it recently did to a German hobby fisherman. According to the specialist portal petri-heil.ch It was a proud catfish measuring 2.45 meters long and weighing 90 kilograms. According to Swiss media, the fish was estimated to be around 2.2 meters long. Either way, the two men were apparently unprepared for such a “monster,” according to the judicial authorities’ assessment.
But the anglers didn’t want to release their fat prey either. As the responsible public prosecutor’s office in See/Oberland determined, the two men subjected the animal to an “unnecessary torture lasting several hours” by tying the fish to the boat with a rope through its mouth and dragging it behind them. The law enforcement officers ruled that this was contrary to animal welfare. The result was irritation of the nerve cells in the gills and with it pain, suffering or at least “excessive transport”.
![Greifsee Switzerland lake idyll catfish fishing fisherman cruelty](https://www.merkur.de/bilder/2023/09/20/92535152/32743574-greifensee-schweiz-see-idylle-wels-fischerei-fischer-tierquaelerei-O5BG.jpg)
When the two amateur fishermen brought their catch to the shore, the torture for the animal still didn’t end. To take the “perfect photo,” the two people from Zurich first detached the catfish from the rope, but after a short time they attached it again to the same place in the fish’s mouth until they had all the pictures in the box. According to the public prosecutor’s office, attaching the rope twice was not necessary, the Swiss newspaper quotes from the reasons for the verdict.
Hobby fishermen receive a four-digit fine and an entry in the criminal record
The fishing trip now costs the two men dearly because of their cruelty to animals. Both received a fine of 30 daily rates. Due to different financial circumstances, the daily rate of one of the hobby fishermen is 130 francs (around 135 euros), the other pays 30 francs (around 31 euros) per day, which roughly corresponds to a total fine of 4,050 euros or 930 euros.
In addition, there are procedural costs of 800 francs each, as well as additional fees of 1,200 francs and 800 francs, respectively, as the Swiss newspaper reported. The two men also received an entry in the criminal register in Switzerland. A case of animal cruelty also recently made headlines in Italy: a shepherd mistreated his flock of sheep in a region in the north of the country.
#Hobby #fishermen #pull #mega #catfish #Alpine #lakes #receive #high #fines