Moving frogspawn can spread diseases

Frog and tadpole populations are being put under threat by the spread of a deadly fungal disease caused by residents dumping frogspawn into Black Country nature reserves.

People are being asked not to take frogspawn from their own garden ponds and dump it into streams and ponds to prevent the spread of a fungal disease called chytrid fungus in frogs.

Park wardens at The Leasowes park in Halesowen have spotted several cases of people throwing frogspawn into pools at the beauty spot.

Warden Helen Edwards said: "The disease is threatening an already declining frog population nationally so we are asking well-meaning people to think twice before moving their frog spawn to prevent the spread of the disease. Although there may be lots of individual frogs at the moment laying spawn, you will not be over run with frogs.

"Most of the tadpoles that emerge will not survive to adulthood and only one or two will become fully grown frogs."

In Staffordshire, people have also informed Lichfield District Council of the problem, forcing the authority to issue a warning to residents not to move the frogspawn.

Chief executive for The Wildlife Trust in the Black Country and Birmingham, Neil Wyatt, says the main reasons for people dumping frogspawn are fears it will overwhelm their pond and potential noise from fully-grown frogs. "There is the chance that when you move frogspawn, diseases can spread like wildfire," he said.

"The problems has grown more over the past 10 to 12 years and it has had a serious impact on the frog numbers across the area."

Mr Wyatt said he wanted to appeal to Express & Star readers not to dump frogspawn and instead document it as part of a wildlife study helping to track the population in the region.

The fungus can cause a condition called Red Leg in frogs were hind legs swell with blood.

There is also the risk of transferring invasive non-native pondweed to pools in beauty spots across the area. Visit www.ecorecord.org.uk for more details.