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Posted on 10/28/2003 9:01:42 PM PST by Pikamax
American Bullfrogs Invade Britain and France
by Sherry Morse
Posted on October 28, 2003
In spite of an importation ban, recent reports indicate that American bullfrogs are still finding their way to the British Isles and France, with disastrous consequences for the native wildlife there.
According to Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), a bullfrog was recently found at a home in the Scottish Borders by animal welfare officers. It is believed that the bullfrogs are being imported as "giant frog larvae" and are being sold at markets and garden centers.
The frogs, which can weigh over a pound and grow to eighteen inches long, originally became popular in the 1980s in Europe because of their size and the fact that they have a voracious appetite and will eat virtually anything.
In 1997, however, the importation of the frogs was banned by the European Commission because of the destruction they could cause to wildlife.
Fears of giant American frog plague after illegal importation
SNH recently raised an alert about the bullfrogs as part of the United Kingdom's Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime campaign.
SNH licensing officer John Ralston said, "We really do need the help of the public, garden centers, and pet shops to prevent this destructive species from entering our country. This type of import is customer-driven and we can all do our part in protecting the environment and native species by not making a demand for such species."
While the frogs have not yet been found in the wild in Scotland, SNH believes it is just a matter of time before they are, and the results could be devastating.
"They’re over-sized, over-sexed, and over here," remarked Sunday Herald Newspaper reporter Rob Edwards.
In the United States, adult bullfrogs have been known to eat animals as large as ducklings. Female bullfrogs can lay as many as 20,000 eggs a year.
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The frogs are almost impossible to eliminate without resorting to extreme tactics - including shooting them, as was done at an estate near Tunbridge Wells in Kent after two escaped frogs managed to produce a 7000 frog infestation on the estate.
In south-western France, American bullfrogs were released on a private pond near Libourne in the early 1980s and have now migrated to lakes, ponds, marshes and gravel pits all over the Gironde region.
They have also been found in the Landes area in the south and the Cognac region to the north.
"This is a real threat to the fresh water environment," said Cristophe Coic of the environmental group Cistude. "We must do something before it is too late. The survival of several indigenous species depends on it."
At least the frogs can be shot and then vendors can start offering tasty frog leg appetizers. Unlike the *bleeping* invasion of Japanese beetles (the yellow 'ladybugs') here in the US. Bloody things can't be shot, they stink when squished, pesticides don't work, and they get into everything. All courtesy of enviro-weenies looking for an eco-friendly way to eliminate pesticides for soybean crops...
Then there is kudzu - the Asian vine that is deforesting and destroying crops in the South. A plant someone thousght was "cute" at an Expo.
You'd think people would learn - leave the critters and plants where they grow naturally....unless they're dead and tasty*. :-)
*Commentary from PETA (People for Eating Tasty Animals)
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FYI, I think this is the way the brits described the US airmen in WWII.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This odd documentary is for the audience that can't get enough of off-center, real-life tales akin to those captured by Errol Morris (Gates of Heaven). In the 1930s Australian sugar-cane farmers imported the bufo marinus, or cane toad, from Hawaii to destroy the crop-damaging greyback beetle. In short, the descendents of the original 102 toads virtually took over half a continent. We hear from all sides about the problem: the scientific studies of their mating habits (bruising), defense systems (poison that can kill a predator), and their eating habits (almost anything).
Much of Mark Lewis's short film sticks with the common folk and their polarized feelings about the animal. Told with a great amount of wit, this 1987 documentary illustrates that the strangest things on film are always true.
The movie is side splitting funny.
Yes, they taste like rattlesnake.
How can you tell?
;-/
A description that could also apply to the French.
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