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Frog poachers nabbed
15/12/2005 20:55 - (SA)
Vesoul - Four men who illegally profited from France's food fetish for fried frog's legs were convicted on Thursday for poaching thousands of the amphibians and selling them to restaurateurs.
A court in Vesoul, eastern France, found the four guilty of setting traps in the Vosges region near the German border dotted with lakes between 2002 and 2004 and selling the frogs for between 23 and 32 euro cents each. Such an activity is reserved for licensed froggers in France.
The judge ordered the ringleader, a 55-year-old former cook, to pay a €1 000 fine. His son was fined €500, and two accomplices were made to pay €450 and €150 respectively. Their frog-trapping gear was also confiscated.
The gang was spotted by a ranger and put under wiretap surveillance in May 2004. After warrants were issued, raids turned up 65 frog-traps, leading to their prosecution.
- AFP
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South Africa
