Goa Frogs

Nick-H · May 25th, 2007, 12:33

I'm no vegetarian, quite the opposite --- but if you were to tell me that my leg of lamb came from a live animal that was then left to bleed to death, I'd give up eating lamb.

I don't eat beef in India because the cruelty done to cows in transportation, sometimes over long distances, to slaughter.

There is almost certainly no perfect commercial system of animal slaughter for meat, but those of us who eat it can still draw our own line, and say that thus far we will not go.

machadinha · May 25th, 2007, 13:06

German investigative reporter Günter Wallraff had some interesting report in one of his books about his undercover work in a slaughterhouse which would make you give up eating meat any time. Some interesting observations on the prolonged psychological effects of doing that work too.

How come I can't come across this thread without thinking what's wrong with the French in Goa btw?

PeakXV · May 25th, 2007, 20:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by machadinha

German investigative reporter Günter Wallraff had some interesting report in one of his books about his undercover work in a slaughterhouse which would make you give up eating meat any time. Some interesting observations on the prolonged psychological effects of doing that work too.

Don't forget there are those of us that hunt, harvest, clean, prepare and cook our own wild free-range game. And while doing so abide by local bag limit laws, donate money to wildlife societies that maintain habitate specfic, and are extremely knowing & sensitive to the yearly population counts of these fauna & avifauna.

crvlvr · May 26th, 2007, 00:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

I don't eat beef in India because the cruelty done to cows in transportation, sometimes over long distances, to slaughter..

I am not sure if it is much better in the west. there some video out there. one was even posted on IM. the trasport has to be done in India for as far as I know only the states of Kerala and West Bengal slaughter cows.. (you wonlt see many stray cows in these states)

machadinha · May 26th, 2007, 00:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeakXV

Don't forget there are those of us that hunt, harvest, clean, prepare and cook our own wild free-range game. And while doing so abide by local bag limit laws, donate money to wildlife societies that maintain habitate specfic, and are extremely knowing & sensitive to the yearly population counts of these fauna & avifauna.

Yes of course

I was thinking the mass consumption variety. Hunter-gatherers I can live with I think

(hard to arrange in some modern places though).

You're right Crvlvr, much Dutch meat gets exported all over the world (often alive), to be replaced by the imported meat we do eat. Highly efficient & animal-friendly and evironmentally sound process.

birds · May 26th, 2007, 01:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by shashank.aggarwal

Too many..infact they are closest to man..i guess..

Never knew humans and frogs were so close. If that is indeed the case, then there is perhaps even more reason to treat frogs better.

Nick-H · May 26th, 2007, 02:16

Treating humans better would be a nice idea too

Lots of frogs in my garden at the moment

birds · May 26th, 2007, 12:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Lots of frogs in my garden at the moment

You could open a garden restaurant!

dzibead · May 26th, 2007, 13:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

Good Grief, they weren't at my school.

But I think they were dead before the dissection

They certainly weren't alive and stitched up again in my school either!

They were stone dead and stinking of formaldehyde. I seriously doubt that any of us would have had the surgical skill to "operate" successfully on them. When we did the dissection we had to peel off the skin in one piece, like pulling off a sweater, and if you turned it right side out and let it dry, you got what looked like a flat frog. I kept mine for years - pinned to the bulletin board in my room.

Yuck! I think my mother sureptitiously tossed it one day (as she did the perfectly formed and completely dry baby horseshoe crab I found at the beach - which didn't stink at all! so I was annoyed when she tossed it

Mothers! Tsk!)

But dissection stories aside, the method of "harvesting" frogs described by the OP seems unnecessarily brutal - even if it's "only" a frog.

shashank.aggarwal · May 26th, 2007, 14:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by dzibead

They certainly weren't alive and stitched up again in my school either!

They were stone dead and stinking of formaldehyde.

But there rats and frogs were not dead...they were very much alive and kept alive after the experiment..

Quote:

Originally Posted by dzibead

I seriously doubt that any of us would have had the surgical skill to "operate" successfully on them.

Maybe that is the reason that Indian Doctors are in high demand these days..

dzibead · May 26th, 2007, 15:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by shashank.aggarwal

But there rats and frogs were not dead...they were very much alive and kept alive after the experiment..

Well, yes, there are lots of experiments that are done on live animals ... but actual dissection?

I'm not sure how you'd do that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shashank.aggarwal

Maybe that is the reason that Indian Doctors are in high demand these days..

But I'm sure a lot of them have done their share of dissecting dead animals and human cadavers, too.

birds · Jun 12th, 2008, 01:01

It is about a year ago when I first reported on the frog situation in Goa. I am happy to inform you that the campaigns seem to be successful.

Please find below the latest progress report.

P.S. Moderators, the below report is permitted to be reproduced.

Quote:

Dear WildGoans,

We are in the middle of the campaign to save the frogs, and I'm glad to report that we've had more positives to report than negatives so far...

This campaign started well ahead in time, in April 2008, and from the first initial meetings, we almost always had around 20 people showing up. These meetings were informal, and everybody was given a chance to speak. It was nice to have suggestions and ideas coming in from almost all the participants. Members of the press also came in their personal capacity, and then promised to get involved. It was because of these initial meetings that this campaign took shape.

From April to May, we worked on compiling a list of restaurants serving frog meat, and soon, we had a modest list of 14 restaurants all over Goa thanks to many of you that emailed, phoned and visited with tips. We had at least 4 meetings with the top Forest Department officials, and they were very cooperative this time, and also promised to do their duty.

Besides compiling the list, we also requested the forest department to initiate more action into the campaign. We asked them though a letter,to issue notices to all restaurants, take action on the list of 14 restaurants, spread awareness by putting out their posters as well as newspaper adverts, and most importantly, form frog rescue squads during the beginning of the monsoon season when most of the frogs are hunted.

A few officials said that they were glad that we were persuing this matter, as they often feel frustrated when higher officials remain unconcerned about the problem and do nothing. Since the law protecting frogs came out in 1985, there has not been a single conviction for catching of frogs in Goa.

Well, everybody... we have a announcement to make... that last statement is now history. For the first time in Goa, we have had convictions!

Almost all the local newspapers including the TOI & NT have carried out reports that out campaign is working, and that people have started to be arrested. As I write this, 9 persons have been convicted in the past 3 days and a few more will also learn the hard way, that they will have to face the consequences of hunting an endangered species. Any person if convicted for catching, killing, serving or eating frogs, could face a fine upto 25,000/- and or imprisonment upto 3 years!!! This is indeed something consider if you are still adamant about eating frogs!

Besides ensuring that the law is enforced, WildGoa, also believes in awareness, so right from April 2008, volunteers have decided to write articles about Frogs, which are then published in the local newspapers.

At the end of each article is a list of phone numbers that readers can call, if one sees people catching or serving frog meat. While Herald has gone all out and supported the cause, Gomantak Times the Goan Observer has lent considerable support. Unfortunately, Navhind Times and the Times of India chose to ignore it completely, thought we wrote individual letters to all the editors. Perhaps next year, we ought to visit the editors and speak face to face. I'd like to thank Franky from Herald and Arati from GT for pushing the campaign in their personal
capacity.

Besides the press, we will soon receive international assistance from the Zoo Outreach Organization, Animal Ark who have despatched 5 'Save the Frog' T-shirts, and 25 information packs containing frog awareness material such as posters, booklets, placards, masks, stickers, & Rakhis.

This awareness material will be given away as prizes on awareness
campaigns in local media like Sunday papers and local radio stations.

Radio Indigo & Radio Mirchi have both carried out awareness campaigns on saving frogs on world environment day, and again both Jolene from Indigo & Ethel from Mirchi need special thanks.

You can still get involved and help. If you see people catching frogs, either go over and educate them, or report them to the authorities (numbers below). If you visit a restaurant that's still serving frog meat, let us know. (You could mail me or Aaron). Take pictures, and we would be glad to use it in this and future campaigns. Write articles, your own experiences, and we'll get it published in the paper's that support this cause. The volunteer for north Goa seems to have switched off his phone at the most crutual time, and so we need another volunteer to stand in... if you would like to help... please let us know. Ask the
forest department about the status of those 14 restaurants, and ask the press to follow up too. Let's also ask our politicians what they think of frogs and if they think it's important to save them.

If you've helped this campaign in whichever way you could.. I'm sure your gonna hear more frogs croak this year!

Catching, killing & serving of wild bull frogs is declared banned by the Government of India in 1985 under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Anybody found to be doing so could face payment of a fine and imprisonment or both. As a lay person, if you would like to help save frogs, please immediately report individuals catching frogs or restaurants serving frog meat to the nearest Police (Ph: 100) or forest officials at Panjim DCF Devendra Dalai: 9423889890, CF C A Reddy: 9422437237, ACF Dr Francis Coellho: 9422388188, CCF Richard Dsouza: 9422437333, DCF NGoa Shambhu: 9422437137 Campal RFO: 2228772, Valpoi FTS: 2374406, Bondla RFO Vernekar: 2935800, Mollem RFO Amar Heblekar:
2612211/09423316280, Bhironda RFO Prakash Salelkar: 9422059237, ACF SGoa Anil Shetgaokar: 9822587607, Margao RFO: 2750246 & Cotigao RFO Paresh Porob: 2639265/2965601/9822157139. If you can't get through, try the next nearest contact. Once you have done so, please report this to one of our WildGoa volunteers Mr Rakesh Verma (North Goa): 9765 454581 or Mr. Sandeep Azrenkar (South Goa): 9823171321 who will note down your complaint and check back with the forest department to see if any action was taken.

Clinton Vaz

May 25th, 2007, 12:33	#16
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 26,829	I'm no vegetarian, quite the opposite --- but if you were to tell me that my leg of lamb came from a live animal that was then left to bleed to death, I'd give up eating lamb. I don't eat beef in India because the cruelty done to cows in transportation, sometimes over long distances, to slaughter. There is almost certainly no perfect commercial system of animal slaughter for meat, but those of us who eat it can still draw our own line, and say that thus far we will not go. __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

May 25th, 2007, 13:06	#17
machadinha Not Your Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 10,557	German investigative reporter Günter Wallraff had some interesting report in one of his books about his undercover work in a slaughterhouse which would make you give up eating meat any time. Some interesting observations on the prolonged psychological effects of doing that work too. How come I can't come across this thread without thinking what's wrong with the French in Goa btw? __________________ Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

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