Aggressive Wels injured bathers on Lake Brombach: Police shoots!

Aggressive Wels injured bathers on Lake Brombach: Police shoots!

An injured catfish and numerous shocked bathers shape the headlines around a tranquil bathing day at the Brombachsee in Bavaria. On June 20, 2025, there were several attacks by a two -meter -long catfish that injured at least five swimmers. The fish weighed around 90 kilograms and thus caused an unexpected turn of a sunny day when the water guard was alerted at 5 p.m. The rescue workers of the Bavarian Red Cross supplied the injuries directly on site, while the bathing area was quickly closed.

To defuse the Situation, a police officer picked up his service weapon and shot on the aggressive catfish. This drastic measure met with mixed reactions. Christian Forster, fish economist, defended the use of firearms on the grounds that the bathers were in acute danger and that it is difficult to caught. However, the police's approach was sharply criticized by the German Animal Welfare Association. The association described the killing of the catfish as "completely disproportionate" and instead pleaded for a barrier of the bank area to protect the swimmers while a protected handling of the animal is sought.

a security risk?

The police classified aggressive Wels as a "security risk" for the bathers. According to police spokesman Michael Petzold, aggression at Welsen rarely occurs, but in this case the defense of his nest could have led to it. Felix Reibs from the State Fisheries Association explained that Waller does not normally attack people unless they feel threatened. However, these attacks can be seen in the context of the spawning period: in May and June, the behavior of catfish can change if they protect their brood.

reports on attacks by Welsen in swimming lakes keep causing concern. Many people are afraid of these huge fish. In the media there are headlines about aggressive catfish that supposedly attack swimmers, dogs or even small children. Welse is primarily known for their impressive size: they can become up to three meters long and over 100 kilograms and reach an age of up to 80 years.

The nature of the catfish

Despite their size, catfish are quite popular as a food fish. They hardly have any bones and need relatively little food. Their main food usually consists of other fish, invertebrates and occasionally of water birds and small mammals. But we can calm down: People are not on the menu of the catfish. The human remains that were found in Welsen usually come from corpses that are in the water.

It remains to be seen how the situation on Lake Brombach will develop and what measures will be taken to protect the bathers in the future. What is certain, however, is that a visit to the bathing lake is a little less carefree due to such incidents. The bathers still have to learn that nature has its own rules every now and then.

You can find more details on the incident in the reports of Br.de , rtl.de and ludwigshafen24.de .