Steven Green from Cardiff recently found a live toad in a bag of Tesco spinach imported from Spain. The jokey media report says the toad was believed to be a natterjack (Bufo calamita), and that:natterjack toads are Europe’s noisiest amphibianwhich they're not. Either on his own, or with the help of Lucy Benton, a "wildlife information officer", Mr Green released the toad in his garden.
Funny story, right?
Wrong.
It's incredibly irresponsible to release an animal, possibly carrying untold diseases, such as chytrid, into the wild. Let's hope UK wildlife doesn't suffer too much from this episode. But how many other disease-ridden amphibians are the big supermarkets importing into the UK annually?
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