News: September 2004

Many gardeners in Essex, Surrey and Kent have reported that frogs have disappeared completely from their ponds this year.

It is thought that a disease know as 'red leg', first recorded in this country 20 years ago, could be responsible for the demise of the frogs (Rana temporaria). There have been reports of the disease spreading further west and north (as far as Yorkshire) and experts are extremely concerned about the possible impact on frogs on a national scale.

Symptoms include bleeding sores and red patches on the legs and body leading to the loss of feet or legs and eventually death. The Environment Agency says that it can do little more than monitor the situation, taking samples from infected sites. But Tom Langton, director of the conservation organisation Froglife, wants the government to fund a nationwide survey in order to find out more about the extent and nature of the disease.

Valerie Elliott. 2004. Virus leaves frogs on their last legs. Viewed on the web at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,175-1256730,00.html on September 13th 2004.