Chytrid fungus popular article

[Afemoralis]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/us...tion.html?_r=3

[jacobi]

" Efforts to ban the live bullfrog imports have been strenuously opposed by Chinese-American leaders who defend their communities' rights to a traditional part of their diet."

Well that's all very nice and well. Humanity loses a vital part of our ecosystem, including the potential for future life saving medications (This has actually happened. It is not a "what if" scenario. Rheobatrachus for example, the Australian gastric brooding frog was being studied by researchers for a cure for peptic ulcers when it went extinct. I'm sure someone with more knowledge can chime in) to support peoples rights to stir fry.

Jake

[MonarchzMan]

Well, part of the problem too is that legislation to regulate chytrid spreading via the food trade has thus been proposed to do a blanket ban on amphibian trade, which would include the pet trade. Such efforts have drawn ire from the pet trade community, and I would say, understandably. The role of the pet trade in the spread of chytrid is poorly known at best.

However, that said, I do think that the amphibian food industry needs more regulation than it has. I will admit I do not know where most of the live frogs come from (wild caught? farms?), but if they come from farms, it would seem to me easy enough to push through legislation similar to what the USDA does with farm animals (e.g., pullorum and poultry - any farm that gets a positive for pullorum will have the entire flock culled so that the disease cannot spread). It would seem easy enough to do the same for these bullfrogs. If a farm gets tested positive for chytrid, the entire stock should be euthanized. Such consequences would force the industry to adopt better biosecurity practices.

And if frogs are wild caught, then heavy fines should be enforced should a dealer be found with frogs contaminated with chytrid.

There seems to be a mentality for bans in the country right now, but those largely don't have a great effect (or they're enforced when it's too late - e.g., snakeheads or pythons or marijuana). It seems better to me to allow the trade, but have financial consequences for transporting the disease. Then at least those fines could be used to help against chytrid or whatever.

[jacobi]

So why the hell don't the government authorities implement programs for all these issues instead of banning outright??? Rhetorical question...

Jake

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Why doesn't someone just study the different vectors by which chytrid can be spread, ie amphibian food trade, pet trade, other means. After a period of time you should see where the greatest risk is and be able to concentrate efforts there rather than enforcing an entire blanket ban.