Jelly good show! But enjoy frogspawn magic in its natural home, RSPCA says
RSPCA experts have appealed to children, parents and teachers to resist the temptation to take frog and toad spawn home to watch it grow into adult amphibians.
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The charity wants people to instead enjoy one of nature’s most fascinating miracles in the ponds, puddles and ditches where it unfolds from early spring until April.
Previous generations of youngsters have collected the jelly-like masses with fishing nets and jam jars to witness its transformation into tadpoles then froglets or toadlets.
But wildlife specialists have outlined a raft of reasons why taking the embryos and larvae away from where they were spawned can harm them and other pond life.
Rebecca Machin, Scientific and Policy Officer in the RSPCA’s wildlife team, said moving them may disrupt amphibians’ lifecycles, and the nature they interact with.
Rebecca said: “It’s fantastic that people want to enjoy wonderful wildlife and the great outdoors. But there are a number of welfare issues linked to taking wild animals away from their natural environments. It’s really important for frogs and toads to be able to choose different food at each stage of their development. If they’re taken away from their natural environment, it’s very difficult to provide what they need as they metamorphose from tadpoles to froglets.
“In their natural environment, tadpoles, froglets and toadlets can take shelter when they choose, move to water of the right temperature, and can access land once they can no longer breathe in water for long periods. They also have shade for shelter from any predators that might be present, say in a garden pond. Amphibians can also be harmed by the chlorine in tap water in our homes.”
Adult frogs and toads prefer to breed where the environment suits tadpoles, froglets and toadlets, with natural water, diverse food, access to land, and shelter from heat, cold, and predators to help them reach adulthood.
If spawn or tadpoles are removed to an artificial environment like a fish tank, they may be exposed to unsuitable conditions like chlorinated tap water, excess heat or cold, or the wrong food.
