A pair of the cooked frog legs is priced from Rs 150 to Rs 200 (As per Size) onwards in restaurants and is available at select joints in Canacona where foreign tourists frequent.
Forest department personnel conduct regular checks at suspected restaurants serving the ‘exotic meat’ and have strictly warned against serving frog legs or other wild meat to customers. However, till today, not a single culprit has been booked. The only thing that happens is the notices that are sent to restaurants explaining the ban on killing frogs.
The dish is served under the alias of Mountain chicken, Jumping chicken or Drums of Heaven for example and people devour the meat at exorbitant prices due to the ban.
Animal Rescue Squad president, Amrut Singh asserted that killing of the amphibian is more in Canacona than in the rest of South Goa and most people who conduct these activities are labourers or migrants. He went on to add that motor cycle pilots are directly involved in the trade as they carry the meat from neighbouring Karnataka (Asnotti-Karwar) and its surrounding areas to the state.
According to forest officer, C K Naik from Karwar, they have seized a number of frogs in the last two months and have arrested two people. Further investigations are still on.
“There is a demand for frogs in the coastal areas of Goa. Goan poachers have a good link with Karnataka traders and they work with some kind of barter system wherein the Goan poachers exchange the meat for liquor,” he said.
The ARS has called for investigations on the nexus between motorcycle pilots who transport the meant and the restaurants who serve it.
According to Canacona environmentalists M Naik Gaonkar and Bhanu Gaonkar, frogs are being being caught with the help of migrant labourers and are sold to leading hotels not only in Canacona but at Margao and other cities as well. The environmentalists have urged the concerned authorities to take steps to stop the menace. Canacona has frogs in plenty due to the presence of streams, ponds, lakes and other water bodies which makes it a hub for frog poachers.
“The meat is served only to select and known customers. Unknown customers aren’t treated to the dish for fear of the wrath of environmentalists and the authorities,” said another environmentalist.
The peak season to catch the amphibian is at the outbreak of monsoon when the animal comes out of hibernation to open spaces to mate. In the night, the animal makes a loud croaking sound which makes it easy for poachers to trap them. It isn’t difficult to catch a frog and poachers do so with their bare hands, armed only with flashlights. In deeper waters, the angling method is used to catch them.
Trapped frogs are put in a gunny sack and sold to buyers while the unsold ones are thrown back in open wells and are fished out at a later date as per demand.
Gita Naik, a teacher says that frogs are carnivorous and feed on mosquitoes and other insects. They dwell in watery yards and help keep the mosquito population in check.
Noted Canacona environmentalist, R F John hopes to educate people, especially the youth to protect the frogs and save them from being classified an endangered species so as to provide environmental balance.
