Store-bought Frozen Frog Legs?

[ConcinusMan]

This is a bit random, but does anyone know if frog legs that you see at the supermarket are from wild-caught frogs?

Most are farmed in outdoor pens in South America. And I don't know what methods you're using but everytime I've kept bullfrog tadpoles, even starting them from eggs, they have always thrived.

[infernalis]

Most are farmed in outdoor pens in South America. And I don't know what methods you're using but everytime I've kept bullfrog tadpoles, even starting them from eggs, they have always thrived.

The "farm" consists of fencing in a wetland.. They are "harvested"

The worldwide trade in frog legs is massive, and is undoubtedly a significant contributor to the decline and extinction of amphibian populations worldwide. For example, Europeans alone consumed roughly 120 million frogs per year in the 1990's. The Californian gold-miners nearly ate the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) to extinction in the 19th century, and the species has never fully recovered.The frog legs trade is problematic whether the frogs are wild-caught or farm-raised. Specifically, the harvest of wild frogs leads to depletion of wild populations, and trade in farm-raised frogs leads to the spread of harmful infectious diseases and invasive species.

Kind of like the savannah monitor "farms" they scoop up gravid wild animals and throw them all into a fenced in pen, after they lay the eggs, the skins are used for leather and the eggs are sold into the pet trade.

[nitrogen15]

Back to frog legs :-P I'm also always looking for new food sources for my garter, and currently use guppies, earthworms, supplemented fish fillets and PK mice. Nutritionally, frog legs are a great idea because it's pretty close to the garter's natural diet. My biggest moral concerns with frog legs would be whether the species are in some kind of peril (probably not, but worth checking), and whether they're wild-caught or farmed. That aside, I'd be concerned about contaminants and parasites. A continuous two-week freeze will kill most parasites. I freeze all my feeder fish and fillets for two weeks, even if they're from a local source. It's hard to know about contaminants, especially from countries that don't have strict food standards, so that's up to you to decide.

[ConcinusMan]

The "farm" consists of fencing in a wetland.. They are "harvested"

Exactly. No different than farming anything else. They aren't native to South America and so were planted there to be harvested.

[d_virginiana]

Exactly. No different than farming anything else. They aren't native to South America and so were planted there to be harvested.

Yeah, that's my main problem with it. Like I said before, I know it's a bit hypocritical since the products I do consume cause just as much if not more harm to the environment, but I can only pick certain things to protest, especially on a student budget (heck, I'd be vegetarian if I weren't allergic to milk, eggs, and soy ). I think what bothers me about it is that oftentimes those aren't well-defined 'farms'. More like an area of natural wetland purposely seeded with invasive species. That's just one of my personal pet-peeves because I've spent the last four years researching the effects of invasive species that are brought in and 'farmed' like that.

All the bullfrog tads I've raised have thrived as well. What I was saying is that they seem like a species that would be cheaper to set loose and then harvest than actually invest the money to GROW to marketable size, which is why they 'farm' them that way.

[ConcinusMan]

Yeah, that's my main problem with it. Like I said before, I know it's a bit hypocritical since the products I do consume cause just as much if not more harm to the environment, but I can only pick certain things to protest, especially on a student budget (heck, I'd be vegetarian if I weren't allergic to milk, eggs, and soy ). I think what bothers me about it is that oftentimes those aren't well-defined 'farms'. More like an area of natural wetland purposely seeded with invasive species. That's just one of my personal pet-peeves because I've spent the last four years researching the effects of invasive species that are brought in and 'farmed' like that.

All the bullfrog tads I've raised have thrived as well. What I was saying is that they seem like a species that would be cheaper to set loose and then harvest than actually invest the money to GROW to marketable size, which is why they 'farm' them that way.

I see. Yeah, "transplanted" bullfrogs have done much damage in the western U.S.
Virtually every wetland I visit in the pacific northwest while looking for concinnus' are infested with bullfrogs. While the snakes do thrive by eating them, the bullfrogs displace and prey on native frogs and turtles. Bullfrogs alone have nearly wiped out the native red-legged frog. I rarely find those anymore. They also prey on baby western pond turtles which are also in trouble.

And, I have to say, bullfrog legs really aren't that tasty. I don't dislike them but they surely don't thrill me. They really don't taste all that great to me. Still, once in a while I find them dirt cheap and buy them for my snakes. They love 'em.

[kimbosaur]

Found a pretty informative site:

The Problem With Frog Legs

Site includes some scholarly articles as well as some external links.

To sum up:
It seems like the biggest concerns are with extinction. According to the site, frogs imported from Indonesia are likely wild-caught. It doesn't provide information about frogs from Vietnam though. Other concerns are more environmental. Specifically, bull-frogs seem to be imported live and can escape their enclosures becoming an invasive species that can potentially threaten native ones. Finally, there is concern with infectious diseases. Again, with the bull frogs, they are "known carriers of the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) and thus are likely to be primary contributors to the global spread of chytridiomycosis, a disease that has decimated amphibian populations worldwide."

---

Although the site is informative, it doesn't really help me with deciding whether or not to feed the frog legs that I have already purchased since they talk mainly of American bull-frogs. I did a search on the asian food frogs and found this study:

Pathological Study of Blood Parasites in Rice Field Frogs, Hoplobatrachus rugulosus (Wiegmann, 1834)

Study concluded that "[o]f naturally infected frogs, 70% (98/140) were positive for blood parasites." So, parasites could be a concern. SO, I can either freeze them for a prolonged period of time and risk having some specimens survive, OR I can feed them cooked (I'm thinking boiled?). What do you guys think? And finally, the final concern which I could not find information on is possible toxins.

I am still on the fence of whether or not to feed them, but am hoping I can because I am not one to waste food and I don't know if I'm brave enough to try these for dinner! Lol!

[d_virginiana]

Study concluded that "[o]f naturally infected frogs, 70% (98/140) were positive for blood parasites." So, parasites could be a concern. SO, I can either freeze them for a prolonged period of time and risk having some specimens survive, OR I can feed them cooked (I'm thinking boiled?). What do you guys think? And finally, the final concern which I could not find information on is possible toxins.

I am still on the fence of whether or not to feed them, but am hoping I can because I am not one to waste food and I don't know if I'm brave enough to try these for dinner! Lol!

Personally I wouldn't risk it, but I'm really paranoid about that sort of thing. Also, unless you're sure it's bullfrog, I would worry about the type of frog meat being potentially toxic. Almost all amphibians produce toxins, but they are often very minor and won't even effect local animals, but it can be enough to make a foreign species sick. I ran into that when I gave my snake a pinkie that my pacman had refused.

I also wouldn't risk frog legs for dinner for myself, because well.... They're frog legs

[nitrogen15]

I am still on the fence of whether or not to feed them, but am hoping I can because I am not one to waste food and I don't know if I'm brave
enough to try these for dinner! Lol!

If they were from a US farm I'd use them regularly, because I'd know they were bullfrogs and I'd know more about the farming practices. Since you already have these, you might as well use them IMO. As with all raw foods, I'd still do two weeks in the freezer. Cooking reduces the nutrition for the snake, so I wouldn't recommend it.

I also wouldn't risk frog legs for dinner for myself, because well.... They're frog legs

Frog legs are tasty. Don't hate.

[d_virginiana]

Frog legs are tasty. Don't hate.

Let's agree to disagree on that point