Photo credit: Ever Edrey Hernández Cuadrado – (Colombia)
Review: Abdel Rahman El Gamal
By the late 1930s, bullfrogs had been introduced from the United States into Brazil where the first frog farm outside the United States was established. The real development in the culture of frogs began in the mid-1970s and continued through 1980s, which was reflected in the designing of hatchery, nursing and fattening facilities as well as in the farming practices (e.g. reproduction, nursing, feeding, and grow-out). The species most utilized for Frog culture in Brazil is Rana catesbeiana, reclassified as Lithobates catesbeianus which is popularly known as the American bullfrog and also farmed in Mexico, Ecuador and Guatemala. In General, Brazil is among the main frog producers (capture and aquaculture) whereas frog farming contributes by about 600 tons/year. In regard to consumption, frog meat is ordered at gourmet restaurants as well as at popular places. Frog meat in Brazil is marketed in the form of entire carcasses or of frozen thighs (frog legs).
