Exploitation of frog populations in Asia and Eastern Europe for the trade in frogs’ legs in the EU
4.8.2022
Question for written answer E-002783/2022
to the Commission
Rule 138
Manuela Ripa (Verts/ALE)
As one of the largest markets for wildlife, the EU has a key responsibility to combat biodiversity loss. According to a recent report, the EU’s imports of frogs’ legs have a serious negative impact on wild frog populations in Asia and parts of Eastern Europe. According to EUROSTAT, the EU still imports 4 000 tonnes of frogs’ legs per year, most of them taken from the wild. However, EUROSTAT is only recording specific commodity groups, such as ‘frogs’ legs, frozen’, but not providing species-specific data. Hence, targeted conservation measures for species that are declining and already threatened are difficult to implement. This, by the way, is not only the case for amphibians imported for consumption but for many other wildlife imports (e.g. as exotic pets) that are, if at all, only recorded in imprecise commodity groups such as ‘live reptiles’.
- 1.Is the Commission planning to introduce a recording system at species levels for the EU’s wildlife imports?
- 2.If so, over what time frame could this be implemented? If not, what are the reasons for not doing so?