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JOHANNESBURG – About 230 frogs destined for Vietnam have been confiscated at OR Tambo International Airport.

Manager of animal collection at the National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria, Tracy Rehse, said the frogs arrived at the zoo on Wednesday afternoon.

“We have 80 Bull Frogs and 140 Rain Frogs. 10 of the Rain Frogs died,” she said.

Andre Prins, a conservator at the reptile park, said the Bull Frogs could have been sold at 50 pounds per frog and the Rain Frogs could be sold for an even higher amount.

The frogs, which were bred in captivity, according to the owner, were confiscated because there were problems with the owner’s permits.

They were probably destined to become pets.

Prins said zoo officials would be running tests on the reptiles before they could be released.

“We will need to re-cage them so that they can have better living conditions. They will also be re-classified and wait for the court case to determine if it was a legal trade or not,” he said. – News24