How a Colombian Fights Smugglers: Breeds Rare, Brightly Colored Frogs

Lausanne's "Treasures of Colombia" breeding center is one of a small number of conservation programs that try to stop the smuggling of wild animals by offering those who want them an ecological variant, specimens raised in captivity.
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One of the frogs from the "Blaga Kolombie" breeding center, Photo: BETA/AP
One of the frogs from the "Blaga Kolombie" breeding center, Photo: BETA/AP
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Colombian Ivan Lozano has been fighting for years against the illegal trade in rare tropical frogs, which he grows legally himself and sells to collectors at lower prices.

In this way, instead of finding poachers and smugglers, he has been undermining their trade for years with brightly colored poisonous amphibians that are becoming scarcer in the wild.

His breeding center "Treasures of Colombia" is one of a small number of conservation programs that try to stop the smuggling of wild animals by offering those who want them an ecological variant, specimens raised in captivity.

"We cannot control the fact that in some countries it is legal to own these animals. But we want to make sure that collectors will buy animals that have been bred in captivity and exported legally," says Lozano.

According to him, his company also helps collectors to breed frogs themselves, thus taking additional pressure off the animals in the wild.

Lozano also wants to start a program to release farmed frogs into some forests.

There are 734 species of frogs living in Colombia, of which only Brazil has more, and according to research, at least 160 are critically endangered.

"This is an emergency situation. If we are not persistent, some frogs could die out," said Lozano.

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