Skip to main content

Turkey frees 7,500 illegally hunted frogs into river

The suspects said they were eventually destined for export to France and China where they would be eaten
A frog sings in a pond in Illiers-Combray, central France (AFP)
By AFP

Turkish gendarmerie have released 7,500 illegally hunted frogs - which had been destined for dining tables in China and France - into safe waters, after uncovering a poaching ring.

Officers detained five men on frog trafficking charges, after discovering the amphibians in dozens of nets inside a minibus in the central Anatolian province of Nevsehir, the state-run Anadolu news agency said Wednesday.

The suspects said they were due to ship the frogs to Adana in southern Turkey where they were to be exported on to France and China where frogs are eaten.

The officers later freed the frogs into the Kizilirmak river, one of Turkey's largest, which flows into the Black Sea.

Hasan Huseyin Dogancay, head of a local livestock agency, told Anadolu it was the first time he had encountered such large-scale poaching.

 "We just released the frogs back to nature because they were caught without permission and outside permitted hunting areas," he said.

Conservationists have called for restrictions to frog hunting because of the animal's declining population. 

France placed a ban on commercial frog hunting in 1980.

New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch

Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters

Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.