Prosecutors will not investigate Dutch TV cannibalism

Dutch prosecutors are not investigating a case of apparent cannibalism on a Dutch TV show in which presenters appeared to consume tiny pieces of each others' flesh that had been surgically removed.

Amsterdam prosecution spokeswoman Yvonne van der Leede said no criminal investigation is under way.

Thijs Verheij, spokesman for broadcaster BNN, said doctors and others involved may have broken laws but police probably have more important things to do.

While acknowledging the cannibalism had no social value and was done mostly for publicity, Verheij insisted it was real and reports that BNN has ever said it was a hoax are wrong.

The show "Guinea Pigs" aired Wednesday and included graphic footage of what appeared to be the surgical removal of tissue from a buttock of presenter Dennis Storm and from the waist of co-host Valerio Zeno.

The consumption was taped in front of a studio audience on Dec. 11, well before it was broadcast late on Wednesday.

Both hosts described each other's fatty tissue as rubbery and disgusting, and had apparent difficulty swallowing it.

"I feel dirty," Storm said at one point.

Both described muscle tissue as indistinguishable from other meat such as steak.

AP