French and Belgian gourmet ‘frogs’ with dry seeds

200 million animals are imported every year from Europe, Indonesia and Turkey… some endangered

Environmental groups demand EU import restrictions, country of origin labelling, endangered species listing, etc.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jae-rim Lee = The eccentric gastronomic culture of France and Belgium is driving some frog species to the brink of extinction, British daily The Guardian reported on the 23rd (local time).

According to a report published today by ‘Pro Wildlife’, an international non-profit animal and environmental protection group, some European countries such as France, Belgium and the Netherlands import more than 200 million frogs every year from Indonesia and other countries around the world.

To put Cuisses de Grenouille on the gourmet table.

74% of frogs exported to Europe are from Indonesia. Vietnam followed with 21%, Turkey 4%, and Albania 0.7%, followed by the largest share.

The group warns that “some frog species are rapidly disappearing from the planet” because the number of frogs sold for food in Europe is so high.

In particular, the ‘Anatolian water frog’, an amphibian native to Turkey that is mainly used for cooking in Belgium, etc., may disappear from the wild within 10 years. There are concerns about a decline, the Guardian said.

Dr Sandra Altair, founder of Pro Wildlife, said: “The decline in wild populations of large frog species in Indonesia, Turkey and Albania is creating a fatal domino effect for species conservation. “It’s more likely to get worse and could lead to extinction (several species) over the next decade.”

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which is due to publish a report on the state of international amphibian conservation later this year, has named frogs and other amphibians as the most endangered species among vertebrates.

What is contradictory is that 27 of the EU member states have established policies to ban frog catch in their countries and do not take any measures to restrict imports.

“Frogs are insect killers and play an important role in the ecosystem,” said Charlotte Nitart, president of the French environmental protection group Robin des Bois. “(Frog extinction) will have a direct impact on biodiversity and human health.”

Pro Wildlife and Robinhood have called on EU countries to take measures such as restricting the import of frogs, labeling the origin of frog legs, and listing endangered flora and fauna.

Altair also called for an end to the cruel practice of amputating frogs’ legs without anesthesia, the Guardian said.

walden@yna.co.kr

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