India’s ‘Reckless’ Frog Exports Called Threat to Ecology

NEW DELHI — More than 40 million frogs are killed in India every year for export, creating a serious ecological imbalance, a government specialist said Thursday.

The frog population will rapidly dwindle if the present rate of killing continues, said Prof. N. Balakrishanan Nair, head of India’s Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries.

The “reckless and unscientific methods” of capturing and killing frogs for their legs create a serious imbalance in the environment, Nair told a conference on the subject in Calcutta.

India, the largest exporter of frog legs, earns about $10 million by selling more than 3,000 tons a year to foreign countries, including France, where frog legs are a particular delicacy. The government restricted exports last year after protests by environmentalists and animal rights activists. It banned the export of frogs during the breeding season.