In an effort to leap over traditional business models, Russia's Altai region is pondering breeding frogs for culinary purposes, Vesti.ru news site reported Thursday, citing the head of the region's center for investment and development.
Recognizing that the Altai region is a small frog in a large pond, regional authorities are currently evaluating whether the frog business could be easily implemented and to what extent embarking on the venture would be an economically sound decision.
Authorities have not revealed when they could make a decision about their amphibian ambitions.
The Altai region is also contemplating increasing its production of brine shrimp, which are used in industrial fish production and the cosmetics industry, TASS news agency reported.
Frog legs, a French cuisine delicacy, are not a popular item on the Russian market. But in the early 2000s, a company in the Krasnodar region successfully bred Volga delta frogs and managed to sell their legs on the national and European markets, Kommersant newspaper reported at the time.
President Vladimir Putin was reportedly offered a sample of the local delicacy during an official visit to Astrakhan in 2002. Though he offered no formal critique of the dish, he did eat every last bite, Kommersant reported.
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