Save the Frogs
March 2012
At the request of SAVE THE FROGS!, on January 24th the City of Santa
Cruz became the first city in the USA to ban bullfrogs.
More recently, on February 28th I spoke to the Santa Cruz County Board of
Supervisors, and they followed suit by voting unanimously to ban the
importation, sale and purchase of American Bullfrogs in the county.
We are now moving to the state level and hope to soon make California the
first state in the country to ban these non-native predators that are
imported into the state by the millions each year for use as pets and frog
legs.
From San Jose Mercury:
Santa Cruz County bans sale and importation of bullfrogs
By Jason Hoppin,
Santa Cruz Sentinel, February 28, 2012
The Santa Cruz County board of supervisors on Tuesday joined in a local ban
of American bullfrogs, part of an effort to evict the big-mouthed,
eat-anything, unwanted guest from county lands.
The unanimous vote follows a vote by the city of Santa Cruz, with supporters
hoping to win support for an eventual statewide ban. They say the frogs,
native to the northeastern U.S., are an invasive species that wreaks havoc
on the local environmental, including devouring three local species of
endangered amphibians.
"Bullfrogs are a predatory, non-native species that eats our native wildlife
and spreads disease," said Kerry Kriger, founder and executive director of
Save the Frogs. He said they will eat endangered California red-legged frogs
and two local endangered salamanders.
A quick survey of local pet shops didn't find one that sold the frogs.
Rather, Kriger said they are imported into California primarily as food,
winding up as plates in French, Tex-Mex, and, especially in the Bay Area,
Chinese restaurants.
The board's unanimous vote bans the importation and sale of the frogs, but
stopped short of banning their possession.
Aaron King, owner of Trop-Aquarium on Mission Street, said his store does
not carry bullfrogs because they are invasive. Bullfrogs can get their
mouths around surprisingly large prey -- even mice -- and devour them whole.
They eat just about anything and everything," King said.
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