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Appetite for frogs’ legs in France and Belgium ‘driving species to extinction’-Conservationists say exploitation of amphibians leading to depletion of native species abroad
Guardian ^ | 6-27-22

Posted on 06/27/2022 11:09:52 AM PDT by SJackson


Europe imports up to 200 million mostly wild frogs every year. The giant African bullfrog (pictured) may already be extinct in Swaziland. Photograph: Nature Picture Library/Alamy

A voracious appetite for frogs’ legs among the French and Belgians is driving species in Indonesia, Turkey and Albania to the brink of extinction, according to a report.

Europe imports as many as 200 million mostly wild frogs every year, contributing to a serious depletion of native species abroad.

Scientists estimate that the Anatolian water frog could be extinct in Turkey by 2032, because of over-exploitation while other species such as the Albanian water frog are now threatened.

Export quotas for Indonesia’s Javan frog have also been withdrawn in a move that conservationists suspect may be as a result of population depletion.

Dr Sandra Altherr, the cofounder of the conservation charity Pro Wildlife, which co-authored the report said: “In Indonesia, as now also in Turkey and Albania, large frog species are dwindling in the wild, one after the other, causing a fatal domino effect for species conservation.”

“If the plundering for the European market continues, it’s highly likely that we will see more serious declines of wild frog populations and, potentially, extinctions in the next decade.”

Charlotte Nithart, the president of the French NGO Robin desBois, which co-wrote the paper, said: “Frogs play a central role in the ecosystem as insect killers and where frogs disappear, the use of toxic pesticides is increasing. Hence, the frogs’ legs trade has direct consequences not only for the frogs themselves, but for biodiversity and ecosystem health as a whole.”

Amphibians are the most threatened group among vertebrates, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature , and the EU’s habitats directive prevents native wild frogs from being caught in member countries.

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Outdoors
KEYWORDS: froglegs; frogs
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To: SJackson

No thank you to frog legs. I still remember the smell of formaldehyde from my last dissection.


21 posted on 06/27/2022 1:04:26 PM PDT by Liaison (TANSTAAFL)
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To: dfwgator

22 posted on 06/27/2022 1:21:56 PM PDT by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s^2)
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To: SJackson

I like them too but, I wont kill them just for the legs and plus, there isnt enough difference in them and the little legs on chicken wings to make it worth the trouble. IMHO!


23 posted on 06/27/2022 1:25:23 PM PDT by weezel
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To: SJackson

Where’s Pepe?

I came here for the pictures of Pepe.


24 posted on 06/27/2022 1:41:12 PM PDT by unlearner (Si vis pacem, para bellum. Let him who desires peace prepare for war.)
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To: SJackson

Import the brightly colored ones from the amazon, it will be sort of like a French version of Fugu.


25 posted on 06/27/2022 1:47:37 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Greg123456

And if you don’t eat frogs you’re not French....

Or Cajun.

Fried frog legs with remoulade sauce. Bingo good.


26 posted on 06/27/2022 1:47:56 PM PDT by Texas resident ( Let's Go Brandon)
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To: RedMonqey

Cane Toads and they came from Hawaii.


27 posted on 06/27/2022 3:08:21 PM PDT by Aussiebabe
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To: SJackson

Let them eat cake.


28 posted on 06/27/2022 3:21:25 PM PDT by bgill (Which came first, the vax or the virus?)
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To: SJackson

Do “toad” legs taste the same?


29 posted on 06/27/2022 3:25:05 PM PDT by faucetman (Just the facts, ma'am, Just the facts )
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To: faucetman

The problem with the toads is that they are poisonous. There is a way to clean them to make them safe but apparently few want to go to the trouble or risk learning.


30 posted on 06/27/2022 4:43:10 PM PDT by gnarledmaw (Hive minded liberals worship leaders, sovereign conservatives elect servants.)
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To: SJackson

Something about this story doesnt seem right.

I lived in Europe for a while and as I travelled around I ate a lot of frogs.

Not once did I get anything resembling what we think of as a frogs leg. The frogs they serve are tiny little tree peeper type things. The hips and both legs are still attached. They have to be just to be able to get enough meat in your mouth at once to be able to distinguish that there is meat not just sauce. They seemed pretty much uniform in size suggesting the same type everywhere and likely of the same approximate age as though they were farmed.

Admittedly that was quite a few years ago and I dont know the history of frog legs in Europe or what has happened since but I cant be the only one around here that has experienced that. If there is truth to this amphibian apocalypse then I suggest that it must have happened long ago and if it wasnt long ago where did all those seemingly farmed ones go since I was there?


31 posted on 06/27/2022 4:55:01 PM PDT by gnarledmaw (Hive minded liberals worship leaders, sovereign conservatives elect servants.)
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To: SJackson

I remember being told that frogs are an “indicator species”, and that when frog populations go down it means the ecosystem is being destroyed. I think this is the first article I’ve seen in my whole life that acknowledges that other factors, like hunting, could be in play.


32 posted on 06/27/2022 7:58:17 PM PDT by Ellendra (A single lie on our side does more damage than a thousand lies on their side.)
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To: Ezekiel

33 posted on 07/10/2022 2:21:30 AM PDT by Daffynition (*This admin tells us *A* story; but they don't tell us *THE* story* & :) ~ D Bongino)
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To: moovova; Ezekiel
I triple dog dare ya. :}
34 posted on 07/10/2022 2:26:03 AM PDT by Daffynition (*This admin tells us *A* story; but they don't tell us *THE* story* & :) ~ D Bongino)
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To: Daffynition
I triple dog dare ya.

I triple frog dare ya!


35 posted on 07/10/2022 3:58:09 AM PDT by Ezekiel (🆘️ . . . - - - . . . "Come fly with US". Ingenuity -- because the Son of David begins with Mars ♂️)
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To: Ezekiel
LOL


36 posted on 07/10/2022 8:33:15 AM PDT by Daffynition (*This admin tells us *A* story; but they don't tell us *THE* story* & :) ~ D Bongino)
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To: Daffynition; Noumenon

The obvious question that comes along is, what do they call the rest of the frog?

Meals on wheels?


37 posted on 07/10/2022 9:12:26 AM PDT by Ezekiel (🆘️ . . . - - - . . . "Come fly with US". Ingenuity -- because the Son of David begins with Mars ♂️)
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To: Ezekiel
Looks kinda picky to me.


38 posted on 07/10/2022 9:19:23 AM PDT by Daffynition (*This admin tells us *A* story; but they don't tell us *THE* story* & :) ~ D Bongino)
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To: SJackson

Here in South Jersey you can hear them from 1\2 mile sway. My brothers when young us to go out frothing all the time.


39 posted on 07/10/2022 9:22:21 AM PDT by mware (RETIRED)
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To: mware

Damn auto correct.


40 posted on 07/10/2022 9:23:01 AM PDT by mware (RETIRED)
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