Annual imports of about 4,070 tonnes of frozen frogs’ legs into France is under threat from environmental pressure after more than 500 campaigners approached President Emmanuel Macron, lobbying for the culinary practice to be stopped.
As a result of the open letter organised by French nonprofits Robin des Bois and Vétérinaires pour la Biodiversité (Veterinarians for Biodiversity), and German charity Pro Wildlife, the delicacy known as cuisses de grenouille could soon be a thing of the past.
According to the 557 signatories, France’s appetite for frog legs from Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey and Albania poses a significant threat to amphibian populations in these countries.
Several sources have reported that France alone consumes more than 3,000 tons of frozen frogs' legs annually, with the majority of imports coming from Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey, and Albania.
At the very least, conservationists have urged Macron to implement controls on frog leg imports to combat the decline in amphibian populations caused by related international trade.
Because of the impact at home, where frog harvesting has disturbed biodiversity and resulted in mosquito over-breeding, the capture of wild frogs for commercial use is banned in the EU.
Undaunted, suppliers of cuisses de grenouille have stepped up the harvesting of frogs in the wild of the mentioned exporting countries, posing an existential threat to the two most common species used for human consumption – crab-eating frog and the rice-field frog.
The importation of frog legs from outside the EU has been criticised as "absurd" by NGOs like Pro Wildlife due to its negative impact on frog populations, coming as it does at a time when species numbers are in decline because of global warming.
While there has been a lack of reaction from exporters of frozen frog legs in the mentioned exporting countries, campaigners believe the open letter has brought attention to the need for better regulation and monitoring of the frog leg trade to protect declining numbers and ensure ecological balance in regions from where these frogs are sourced.
