Every year, frog farmers in Bourgogne Franche-Comté capture nearly 1.8 million red frogs, a protected species, thanks to prefectural derogations. This practice, focused on the breeding period, raises strong concerns among the League for the Protection of Birds and France Nature Environnement, who denounce the risks to wild populations and animal health and call for a comprehensive scientific study to measure the real impact of frog farming.
With the arrival of the breeding season, from the end of February, frog farmers spring into action. It is at this precise moment that red frogs are captured in large numbers in the wetlands of the region.
An authorized but contested exploitation
While the species theoretically benefits from a protected status, prohibiting capture, sale, or possession, prefectural derogations allow these harvests each year. According to the data from the issued authorizations, nearly 1.8 million individuals are thus collected annually.
A volume deemed concerning by the associations, who fear long-term consequences on wild populations.
In the face of this significant pressure, the League for the Protection of Birds and France Nature Environnement contest. The two organizations demand the implementation of a comprehensive scientific study.
Objective: to precisely assess the effects of these harvests on the red frog and better understand the real state of populations. For the associations, such an analysis appears essential to adapt, if necessary, the current practices and authorizations.
In a context where the demand remains high, they believe that current knowledge is insufficient to ensure the species’ sustainability.
A scientific study on frog farming
The high volume of harvests raises strong concerns among wildlife and environmental protection associations. The League for the Protection of Birds and France Nature Environnement have launched a campaign to demand the implementation of an ambitious scientific study, capable of rigorously assessing the impact of frog farming on red frog populations, considering the economic stakes involved in this activity.
Interviewed by France 3 Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Ségolène Travichon, deputy director of LPO Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, affirms: “We already contacted the regional prefect in January 2025, but our questions remained unanswered.”
Insufficient scientific data
To date, no study allows for a precise measurement of the impact of consuming frog legs on local populations. According to the League for the Protection of Birds, “the overall indicators on the national population are rather poor,” specifies Ségolène Travichon. “Amphibians are currently the most threatened class of vertebrates in the world. In Franche-Comté, out of 15 native amphibian species, one third is threatened with extinction and two-thirds are at least quasi-threatened,” highlights the association in its statement.
Supervision of harvests and health risks
According to a previous article by the DREAL (Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing), the authority responsible for issuing derogations, “they are subject to regular frameworks and are monitored and controlled by state services. The issued authorizations help regulate the practice, both in volume and modalities. The allocation of quotas and the validity periods of prefectural orders are determined in view of the coherence of requests with the historical data declared and the evaluation of pressure in harvest zones.”
For the League for the Protection of Birds, another major risk lies in the high concentration of animals generated by frog farming. According to the association, this closeness promotes the rapid spread of diseases.
