This is because European countries, which failed to meet the supply of frogs due to regulations, began importing them in large numbers. Some point out that developing countries should bear the damage of ecosystem destruction due to the gluttony and selfishness of rich countries.France imports 2,500 tons of frog legs from Indonesia and Vietnam every year. This is to put frog leg dishes such as “Cuisses de Grenouilles” on the gourmet table.The French people consume about 4,000 tons of frog legs a year. However, in order to protect the frog population, the government purchases the shortfall from abroad, offering strict conditions such as allowing capture only when certain conditions are met during the breeding season (February to April). Nearby European countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands are also representative importers of frog legs. Last year, the German wildlife protection group “Pro Wild Life” analyzed that Europe imports 200 million frogs from Southeast Asia every year.The problem is that wild frogs in exporting countries are also not infinite. There are no official statistics as Indonesia and Vietnam do not separately identify frog populations. However, environmental groups around the world warn that Southeast Asian frogs could become endangered.Nguyen Mai, a representative of the Vietnamese branch of the global animal protection group Human Society International, pointed out, “It has become difficult to find wild frogs, but the Vietnamese government has no plans to restrict the sale or export of frogs.” There is also a precedent for vaguely guessing the future of Southeast Asian frogs.
Belgium mainly used the amphibian “Anatolian Water Frog” native to Turkiye for cooking, and a warning has been issued that it will be difficult to find it in the wild within 10 years.The decrease in frog population threatens the ecosystem. Frogs eat insects. If frogs become scarce, Southeast Asian countries will have no choice but to use more chemicals to eliminate grasshoppers or mosquitoes that cause dengue fever, which are the main culprits of ruining rice farming.Charlotte Nitart, CEO of the French environmental protection group Robin Hood, said, “If frogs disappear, the use of pesticides will increase. Excessive frog imports and exports will directly affect biodiversity and human health.”There are also many voices pointing out Europe’s anti-interest rate behavior. Many European countries are very strict in restricting frog capture to protect their ecosystems, but they take issue with the fact that they turn the damage to the outside world without restricting overseas imports. The Swiss-based International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUN) pointed out that “the taste of rich countries is burdened with a decrease in the population of amphibians in poor countries.”
TED PARK
US ASIA JOURNAL
