The case in summary: • A man in his 50s tried to smuggle six blue poison dart frogs, which are known as the world’s most poisonous animals, into Norway.• The frogs were discovered during a routine check in Larvik.• The man has now been reported, and the frogs are on their way to Den Lille Dyrehage on Brokelandsheia.• There is a total ban on the import of amphibians to Norway due to an infectious fungal disease that attacks amphibians. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. It is not uncommon for customs officials to find animals that are illegal to import, smuggled into the luggage of people crossing Norwegian borders. Frogs, on the other hand, are not everyday food. – This is very rare. It sometimes happens that there are amphibians or living animals that are threatened with extinction, says Kjetil Lundeberg, section manager at Sandefjord Customs. Special passenger The customs officers discovered the somewhat special import item in a plastic box in the back of a car on the way into Larvik. The car with two people was stopped during a routine check. When the customs officials opened the trunk, it turned out that six blue poison dart frogs were also passengers in the car. A man in his 50s from Horten has now been reported. The six blue poison dart frogs were found in a plastic box in the boot of a car on the way to Larvik. PHOTO: Helena Rønning/news Customs does not know why the frogs were tried to be smuggled into Norway. They only know that they were bought abroad. – They are not allowed to be introduced because they are endangered. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority made the decision following our inquiry, says Lundeberg. The customs officers were given no explanation as to what the man in his 50s was doing with six blue frogs in his luggage. – It is a little more than what can be imagined for a hobby business, says Lundeberg. Customs has, among other things, been in contact with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Norwegian Environment Agency to find out how to deal with the illegal catch. On Monday, the frogs are on their way south to Den Lille Dyrehage on Brokeland Heia. Fear of infectious fungal disease There is a total ban on the import of amphibians to Norway. The reason for that is neither that they can be poisonous nor that they are endangered, says Petter Bøckman, zoologist at the Museum of Natural History. – The reason for this is a fungal disease that attacks amphibians. We are terrified that it will spread to wild amphibians in Norway. It is terribly, terribly contagious, says the zoologist. Petter Bøckman, zoologist at the Natural History Museum. Photo: Kristian Elster It is not known how serious the fungal disease can be for Norwegian amphibians, but according to Bøckman it is making a rather ugly dent in the amphibian population down in Europe. Therefore, the import ban is a kind of precautionary measure, Bøckman explains. – In places such as the Netherlands and in parts all the way up to Denmark, we see results of this. Amphibians all over the world are under pressure and are especially vulnerable. There is no reason to be anxious about what is called the world’s most poisonous animal. For the frog is not poisonous outside of its natural element. – What makes the frogs poisonous is the food. These frogs were probably bred somewhere in Europe. If so, they have lived on flour and banana flies as children. Then they are completely non-toxic, states Bøckman.
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– This is very rare – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
