Global Supermarket Brand Drops Frog Legs After Chilling PETA Exposé

Global supermarket giant Carrefour has committed to cutting ties with its supplier in Indonesia and ending its sale of frog legs from the country. The move follows PETA’s shocking video exposé revealing that frogs are butchered alive so that their legs can be sold in supermarkets around the world, including Carrefour.

More than 90,000 people took action for frogs and joined PETA entities around the world in writing to Carrefour Group. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Exposing Cruelty to Frogs

PETA Asia’s investigation showed workers capturing frogs in their natural habitat and stuffing them into sealed bags, where they slowly suffocated as they tried to escape. Workers then cut off frogs’ heads and legs – directly on the ground or on chopping boards stained with blood – and skinned them, sometimes while they were still alive and conscious.

Indonesia is one of the world’s leading exporters of frog legs and the largest exporter of frogs to France, where Carrefour is based. Every year, hundreds of millions of frog legs are shipped from Indonesia to distributors in the EU – nearly 322 tonnes were imported between March and May 2023 alone – and end up in French restaurants and supermarkets.

Investigators visited seven frog-meat operations in Indonesia and discovered that live frogs are kept in cramped sacks, sometimes for as long as two days. One worker who was sorting through the captured frogs slammed the live ones onto the ground and admitted that she didn’t want to take the time to separate the living frogs from the dead ones. Other workers used knives to dismember frogs’ heads and feet – some were hacked at repeatedly, while other frogs weren’t fully decapitated before workers ripped off their skin. Investigators also recorded that frogs’ mouths continued to open and close after decapitation and that their headless bodies were still jumping or moving minutes later.

How You Can Help

We’re thankful that Carrefour has listened to the public and taken decisive action for frogs. French supermarkets Auchan, Intermarché, Picard, Système U, and Thiriet have also taken the first step and suspended their orders from the incriminated supplier, while shamefully, Leclerc has remained silent. We urge the supermarket chain to immediately commit to stopping the sale of frog legs from Indonesia.

Please, never buy or consume frog legs. If you see any restaurants serving them, anywhere in the world, use PETA’s template letter to ask that they remove them from their menu.