Frog extinctions: Europe’s voracious appetite for frogs’ legs is to blame

Wildlife activists warned on Thursday that Europe's voracious appetite for frog legs has caused a "extinction domino effect" on amphibian populations in the wild in parts of Asia and Eastern Europe.

Frogs' legs, or "cuisses de grenouilles," are a delicacy famously enjoyed in France, but other EU nations also like the dish, which is frequently prepared with parsley, garlic, and butter.

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The limbs of as many as 200 million frogs are imported into EU countries each year in approximately 4,070 tonnes of frog legs, according to the German non-profit organisation Pro Wildlife and the French non-profit NGO Robin des Bois.

According to data, Germany spent £73 million on frog imports in 2020, which was more than twice as much as France.Meanwhile, France imported £33 million worth of frogs in the same year.

This makes Europe the world's biggest consumer of frog legs, with gourmets placing a special emphasis on large-limbed species like the East Asian frog and the crab-eating frog.

But the great majority of that catch comes from wild capture.

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