Efforts to save Dominica’s crapaud continues

Dead crapaud

The Forestry Wildlife and Parks Division continue to work on ensuring that the mountain chicken, what used to be Dominica’s National Dish does not become extinct.

A few years ago, the Mountain Chicken was threatened by a fungal disease which reduced the crapaud population in Dominica by about 70 percent.

In response to this situation, the Government of Dominica placed a ban on the hunting of the frog and established a bio technology lab at the Botanic Gardens to carefully study the frog in captivity.

Acting Director of Agriculture Ricky Brumant says much progress has been made.

“If we are talking modernisation outside of Trinidad or Jamaica, we are probably the only other island in the Caribbean with a lab like that with a lot of capabilities. The person that manages the lab is of course, very well trained at the highest level too. This has helped significantly with the Mountain Chicken Project. We are moving along with the project. It is really managed out of Forestry and the Animal Livestock unit but the lab gives that support as well. With regards to the permanent destruction of the Mountain Chicken, I do not think we will have that. The Mountain Chicken will not get into extinction. We should not fear,” he said.

Dominica represents one the last two remaining strongholds for the species until the emergence of the Chytrid fungus threat in 2002.

The creation of the captive breeding programme for the mountain chicken in Dominica forms part of a wider crapaud conservation project.

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23 Comments

  1. saint
    April 20, 2011

    The look rather sexy!

  2. Respect
    April 19, 2011

    @ria, lol when i saw that i laughed, OMG, i said three naked women ready to take man lol lol, yuck i can never eat that disgusting thing.

  3. dear bella
    April 19, 2011

    Please save them. I miss hearing them, i miss seeing them, most of all i miss eating them

  4. de caribbean change, BBA, MBA, CPA
    April 19, 2011

    Save that National Dish at all costs. Some white american folks I talk to about our mountain chicken, the frog, they love, love it. They want more and more. It’s like more socca from the late ARROW.

  5. new national dish
    April 19, 2011

    we need a new national dish crappo i disgusting and shameful . i recall growing up in north america and other friend from other caribbean islands asking what the national dish was . when i told them what it was it became the biggest joke. Correct me if i am wrong but insn’t a national dish suppose to be one that is enjoyed and prepared in all household? how many of you can actually say you ate crappo. that is a cursed dish . jamaica is ackee and altfish, antigua fongee and salfish. If you know what other islands are please name it.
    Ours should be like crab and dasheen calaloo, bakes and ackra ,breadfruit and salt fish, pellau something better than nasty crappo aka moutain chicken . Dno start a poll please

    • ?
      April 19, 2011

      I AGREE.

      • Crapaud is delicious!
        April 19, 2011

        I am ONLY 22 and I have eaten crapaud. I remember having quite a few special occasion meals with this delicacy and it is sooooooooooooo delicious. Wish we could keep it around for generations to come to enjoy it too. I am not ashamed to say I’ve eaten it and enjoyed it. Tastes better than a lot of other meats. Wish you could have had some.

    • Humanist
      April 19, 2011

      The French are well-known for their snails or escargot. People from other countries, and even some French people themselves, may make fun of it, but that doesn’t stop them from liking the dish. If you don’t like the taste, fine. But if your problem is what other people think of you, grow up. This isn’t primary or secondary school, being worried about fitting in with others. Besides, you know how many southern Americans eat weird, weird stuff? Every nation has its unusual dishes. If you like the taste, be proud of your uniqueness and get beyond that school-time fear of conformity. If you dislike the taste or think frogs themselves should not be eaten, that’s another story.

  6. ria
    April 19, 2011

    I just don’t understand how this can be Dominica national dish..This thing looks like a human body..omg this is so upsetting..I have never eaten it and i never will..They say it taste better than chicken , i dnt care how it taste i just can’t see myself eating dat…

    U mean to tell me DA could not find anything else to be our national dish..First we have a parrot on on our flag, which i think is the reason y Dominicans speak so much and like so much beff..then we have a crapo looking like a woman for our national dish..(just an observation)

  7. Anonymous
    April 19, 2011

    Where are the statistics? It’s over 15 years now I have been hearing about the problem and Mr. Brumant cannot give stats? Has population gone up? it it went down 70% when problem was recognized what has it gone up by? What has this state of the art lab produced exactly in terms of the crapaud? Only thing I have learnt in this article is the statitistic of 70%. 15 years of study and we have that! Bravo!

    • Beholder
      April 20, 2011

      I agree. What have the state of the art lab and qualified technicians achieved? And what has this captive breeding program produced in terms of population increase and have they released their produce frogs back into the wild? Unfortunately, once again this article seems more like pr than real reporting.

  8. shatta
    April 19, 2011

    :?:

  9. Homeboy
    April 19, 2011

    Trust me you would say the same for a slaughtered cow, pig, goat!!

  10. Sunday's Child
    April 19, 2011

    Papa met! Change the photo. They look like little people with swollen heads. I can’t even read the text – the photo is so distracting.

  11. linky
    April 19, 2011

    i never eat this befor i don’t think that i will not becaues of the sickness but the way this thing look oh my god i thiught it was a naked woman piture.

  12. EaSiLy
    April 19, 2011

    so ummmm, what is D/ca’s national dish now?

  13. Nathaniel Peltier
    April 19, 2011

    Complements to the forestry division.

  14. Interesting...
    April 19, 2011

    how do people eat these things???!!! Bon Dieu!! Those things look like human beings lying on their tummy…just looking at them makes my stomach flip…

    • Hotstuff
      April 19, 2011

      Your stomach alone that flipping????

  15. Nostalgia
    April 19, 2011

    I did not know it was no longer the National Dish!!!!!! Since when?

  16. Jade
    April 19, 2011

    Bondieu those drumsticks look better than mine…..creepy lol lol

  17. Bushmaninda
    April 19, 2011

    Praises to the Forestry Wildlife and Parks Division for their work. on ensuring that the mountain chicken does not become extinct. Much success to them in their work.

  18. mouth of the south
    April 19, 2011

    oh my!!! on the home page i thought these were naked white chicks lol but i find a specie which populates so well taking time to gain population,,,, what kind of crapauds we have dere nah

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