20,000 Frogs Released in Xi'an

More than 20,000 frogs that were caught for sale have been released to nature by workers of local wildlife protection organizations in this capital city of northwest China's Shannxi Province.

The frogs were confiscated by law enforcers on the city's ten free markets. Put in the knitting bags or string bags, the frogs there are taken out and slaughtered on the spot by the seller for the buyer.

In the past two years, eating frogs has shown an upward trend among some urban residents. Rising market demand has prompted some suburb farmers to catch frogs for trading in violation of government rules.

The frog is a beneficial species. A frog can eat more than 10,000 pests each year.

Wildlife protectors warn that frogs are not edible because they carry parasites such as acarus and a variety of viruses, and some of them live in the polluted rivers, thus being detrimental to human health.






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