AIBU to keep an illegal pet

[bimbimbap]

Apologies for the clickbait title!

The real question is has anyone seen frogspawn in public areas around North or East London? Please comment or DM me with details as my son is obsessed with frogs and would love nothing more than to collect and keep a little frogspawn in a fish tank as ‘pets’ for a few weeks then release them back into the pond.

We’ve been looking for weeks and not spotted any despite it being the right time of year. I understand technically it’s not allowed to move the spawn but we would only take say a dozen eggs and they should have a better chance of reaching maturity than if left where they’re laid.

To anyone who can help - thankyou! I’m sick of all our walks revolving around searching for some!

Back in the day (I am talking 30 years + ago) we used to go tadpoling and bring our finds back to my granddad's pond.

We used to collect actual tadpoles (not massive amounts) and watch them change. Was fascinating. Had some massive frogs / toads living in the pond / garden.

We didn't do it every year but it was certainly a thing I remember doing a few times as a child.

But we never took actual frog spawn.

Why can’t you observe it where it is? Why the need to just take it?

I never understand this need some people have to possess things that should be left in nature. It’s so bloody selfish.

Leave them alone ffs

OP “technically not allowed” means illegal.

Don’t do it.

Leave wildlife where it is.

Just wait til the London Wetlands centre reopens in April and take him there, there's loads of learning areas for pond wildlife he will enjoy.

Don't do it, I'm sure if your son likes them so much he will quite understand why
Are you sure it's not just because it will make your life easier?

There are probably none because loads of parents have taken 'just a dozen or so' for their little darlings.

Your kid isn't the centre of the universe these laws are in place for a reason.

Take him out every few days if you find some, rather than teach him that he is entitled to do what he wants regardless of the law.

Yet again someone thinks they're special and the rules don't apply to them.

YABU, don't do it.

YABVU

YABVU, hoping (foolishly?) that you will take some of the comments on board.

As others have said, put a little wildlife corner in your garden (assuming you have one)
I have an area I've let go wild, there's wildflowers, a bug hotel, a ladybird house and a little pod with stones in it and little bits of logs behind it.

Very quickly the frog pond got a tenant (from God knows where) and the pond has such a range of creatures in it. We do next to nothing with that area beyond trimming the grass when it gets ridiculously high and checking the pond to make sure the oxygenating plants are doing their job.

That would be wonderful for your son to do, fun and educational, rather than putting some frogspawn in a tank for a few weeks.

Don't teach your kid to be a dick to wildlife.

As others have said, there are enough natural predators of wildlife without encouraging your son to disrespect it too.

Take him to see it in situ, where mother nature intended it to grow. Educational and a walk in one.

Well that told you OP 🐸

I had no idea it was illegal for frogs. I knew it was for newts.

I didn't know it was illegal. I am glad it is, although even if it was legal, it is still a pretty shitty thing to do to remove wildlife from it's natural habitat and treat it as entertainment.

YABVU

@catinbootsx

Well that told you OP 🐸

There's nothing like good old MN to put you straight

@Deux

You can easily and quickly make a little nature pond by sinking a big bucket into the ground. Make sure you put steps/pebbles in the bucket so that critters can get out. It really doesn’t take long for wildlife to appear.

The OP clearly isn’t actually interested in helping wildlife flourish, she just want a quick fix.

Why on earth would you do this? Leave the the frogspawn where nature put it and explain to your son why that's best.

It's horribly entitled to treat wildlife as entertainment you can take home.

You should teach your child to respect wildlife ffs.

Yeah I second the Wetland Centre. They have sessions where you can sweep newts etc into nets and put water boatman in jars and look at them under a microscope (and I have to hold myself back from telling the more exuberant children to stop shaking them about all over the place)

He’ll learn more from that than you robbing the local pond of some frogspawn and sticking it in your living room for his viewing pleasure.

Ok I am feeling slightly guilty sat here next to my tank of tadpoles.

I wasn’t sure if taking frogspawn was allowed or advised but I did research first and found a number of credible websites (including wildlife trusts etc) explaining how to do it, to only take a small amount, how to raise them and to reintroduce any froglets back to the original habitat. If anything what I read suggested it was good for the frogs as it improves the chances of some making it to adulthood.

Bit late for me now to be corrected by mumsnet.

In the 80s we had a bucket of frogspawn in the back garden which we were avidly watching change into frogs. Until one day we came back from school to find our dog had drunk half the bucket then vomited back in it, killing the rest. Traumatised for years!

I also did not know it was illegal, and remember doing it as a child but definitely won’t do it with DS4 now!

I do think it’s very naive to expect that everyone has a small area of garden to turn into a wildlife area though. We live in a mid terrace 2 up 2 down with a backyard, no space to sink a bucket into the ground and it’s concrete even if there was