Frogs: Eating frogs' legs in the EU puts species at risk

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Raw frog legs in a Paris restaurant kitchen (stock image)

Photo: JACQUES BRINON/ AP

When it comes to frogs' legs on a plate, most people probably think of French haute cuisine.

In fact, most frogs are still eaten in France.

The tender calf meat of the animals is particularly popular with gourmets - and far beyond the Grande Nation.

According to a new study, the entire European Union is by far the largest importer of the delicacy, with Belgium the main importer.

Between 2010 and 2019, a total of around 40,700 tons of frog legs were introduced, reports the team led by Bonn researcher Mark Auliya from the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change.

This corresponds to up to two billion frogs, according to the calculation.

The effects are drastic: according to analyses, the plentiful consumption of the delicacy in the EU has contributed to the decline in wild frog populations in more and more supplier countries.

After India and Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey and Albania have also recently been affected, the experts report in the journal Nature Conservation.

The countries of the European Union would have to take much more responsibility for the sustainability of trade.

Mainly large frogs, which were usually caught in the wild, are processed into menus.

According to the study, breeding attempts in Indonesia, for example, have not turned out to be profitable.

According to the analysis, India and Bangladesh were the main suppliers to the EU in the 1970s and 1980s.

However, after a drastic decline in frog populations, both countries stopped exporting.

Since then, most of the frogs have come from Indonesia.

However, the population of wild large-legged frog species has already decreased significantly there – as in Turkey and Albania.

There is still a lack of data on certain aspects, such as the impact of trade on the spread of amphibian diseases.

"The international trade in frogs' legs is a black box," Auliya said.

This also applies to the lack of species-specific trade data and incorrect labeling in trade.

In the case of processed, skinned and frozen thighs, it is difficult to check whether the specified species is actually correct without genetic analysis.

ala/dpa