World's Frog Capital Forced to Import Frogs for Festival

The declining prestige of Frenchified cuisine has done little to dent the global appetite for frog legs, much to the consternation of conservationists who say the industry could soon eradicate certain species of the slippery amphibian.

A Swiss animal rights group this week called upon gourmands to boycott frog legs, comparing harvesting a frog for its thighs to killing an elephant for its tusks. But the University of Adelaide's Corey Bradshaw says the world's consumption of more than 1 billion frogs a year isn't just wasteful: It's threatening many frogs' futures.

"Just like fish, they're being unsustainably harvested," Bradshaw says. At most restaurants, he adds, "they'll be just skinned legs. They'll not be able to tell you what species they are."

That's a problem, Bradshaw adds, because nearly one half of frog species are facing extinction. Even Rayne, La., which is the world's Frog Capital, is forced to import the amphibians from China.

Frogs were plentiful in the southeastern U.S. when Jacques Weil arrived in Rayne, La. and opened a bullfrog export outfit. The Weil brothers in the late 1880s christened Rayne the "Frog Capital of the World," and persuaded restaurant owners in their native Paris to use the phrase on menus. Rayne did a steady business in frogs for nearly a century, providing frogs for countless plates of grenouille aux herbes, science experiments and space travel (NASA launched 20 Rayne bullfrogs into orbit in 1970 to study weightlessness. The frogs never returned.)

While Rayne still celebrates its status as the world's Frog Capital with an annual festival – this weekend marks its 37th anniversary – the town no longer has any frogs of its own. Rayne's restaurants, all of which serve frog, now buy frozen legs from various importers. The frogs served at the festival arrive, via local wholesalers, from China.

"It's unfortunate, isn't it?," Frog Festival Coordinator Cheryl McCarty says. "A lot of people here have tried to farm frogs, but it's so cost-prohibitive. Frogs are just difficult to maintain."

McCarty blames the area's dwindling wild frog population on changes in irrigation practices. Bradshaw attributes the drop-off to global warming and over-harvesting. Either way, the declining domestic frog supply and increasing demand have created a vibrant, unregulated market for Asian frogs.

In addition to watching frog races and cheering on their favorite frog jockey queens, Bradshaw says participants in Rayne's Frog Festival will "be eating endangered species. Guaranteed."

Bradshaw has embarked on a one-man campaign to educate eaters about the frog leg industry; He was aghast when he came across a picture of Barack Obama munching on a frog leg, something Bradshaw apparently considers akin to chewing on whale loin.

"People don't think of it because it's not on their radar," he says. "No one wants to eat an endangered species."

Especially, he adds, when the reward is so slight:

"A frog doesn't actually taste like much," he says. "It tastes like boring chicken, actually."