Yeppers, you aint wrong! that’s on AG…uxking farmers decent enough export market for bullfrog meat from here. Same as snail meat and the African giants. Strangely, for the life of me I cannot figure out how nor why the american bullfrog aren’t nearly as invasive here as other countries and regions, like western North America. In those regions they actually threaten loads of wild species. when i lived there we would go on “campaigns” to cull as many as possible lol…as pointless as cane toads in australia…which interestingly are establishing in taiwan right now as we speak. This outbreak is directly corrrelated to the TCM industry for both poison and shed skins. A side hustle with low tier drug morons have also released some for populations without consulting as to how this will never be a viable industry in Taiwan. Fucking Bonkers.
The american bullfrogs tend not to spread fast at least. Deapite their very real ability to do so. Probably due to taiwans relative lack of ponds and still water that is free from predators, they don’t seem as big a threat. Thats just my opinion. Meanwhile a self proclaimed “frog princess” is dancing around the island promoting killing foreign tree frogs (amingst others) and teaching kids to kill them too.
Taiwans issues run pretty deep and get real weird real quick. A lot of the researchers I go on field surveys with wait for me to take pics then stomp out the poor bastards with their boots. Harsh relaity. Doeant change a thing, but likits thousands of further foreigners from bein born. It’s a tipsy turny world in Taiwan still haha.
Edit. Taiwan has started controlling pots of animals in trade now due to this issue. Plants are another worry.
There is a lot of caralogueing in Taiwan, less so in depth research into the how and why. Plus the species published are really just the tip of the iceberg. Once something has hit a journal, there are probably a good 5 to 10 more today that are taking hold.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242144324_Catalogue_of_the_Naturalized_Flora_of_Taiwan
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242144324_Catalogue_of_the_Naturalized_Flora_of_Taiwan
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-list-of-invasive-amphibians-and-reptiles-in-Taiwan_tbl1_331667561
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265202627_The_Pet_Trade_as_a_Source_of_Invasive_Fish_in_Taiwan
https://taiwania.ntu.edu.tw/pdf/tai.2006.51.81.pdf
And, why not… hahaha
https://en.rti.org.tw/news/view/id/2004027
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/5973653
/\ that’s how rampant this problem is. Turns into a game publicly.
Not all a direct reply to you, Brian more just a starting referrence for anyone interested or for those that want to share their info