Source : NDTV, India, 13 Apr '07
By : Kishalay Bhattacharjee
  

Frog legs are one of the better-known delicacies of French and Chinese cuisine and bull frogs in particular are much sought after for their meaty hind legs.

Recently the railway police seized a container filled of endangered bull frogs from a local train coming from the North Cachar Hills, which say they were meant to be smuggled.

''This is a case of smuggling, it happens on this route, they are taken outside. Earlier we had caught elephants. I know they are sent to China, Burma,'' said Ranjit Hazarika, OC GRP, Guwahati.

The 71 frogs that were seized have now been released.

There may be no accounting for taste but these amphibians play a more meaningful role in their natural habitat rather than when served with white wine.

Less than 50 frogs are needed to keep an acre of a paddy field insect free.

Decline in the number of frogs means increased pesticide use and spread of insect-borne diseases like malaria and encephalitis.

Concerns mount

India was France's biggest supplier until it banned frog exports in 1987 because the cost of importing pesticides was greater than what the export of frog legs fetched.

This was also due to the cruelty shown in killing frogs - the legs of frogs are cut off when the animal is alive and the limbless torsos are thrown away.

''It is protected under schedule 4. Wildlife crime is increasing in NE. We have held a meeting recently. We have come to know that from the NE region these are going outside,'' said Surajit Dutta, DFO, Wildlife Guwahati.

The European Commission has already included a ban on imports of frogs but as long as there is a demand in the West, such measures may not help.

Maybe it's time we asked - do eating pleasures prevail over ecological necessity.