Four years, $10,000, one frog: Parks Canada’s bizarre bullfrog boondoggle

It took Parks Canada four years and $10,000 of taxpayer money to capture a single bullfrog in British Columbia. From 2018 to 2023, Parks Canada launched several bullfrog culls at the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, a cluster of islands off the B.C. coast. The result? Thousands spent, and just one frog caught.

“Kids catch frogs for free, but Parks Canada managed to spend several years and thousands of tax dollars before it even managed to catch one frog,” said Carson Binda, B.C. Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Did Parks Canada put Wile E. Coyote in charge of this operation?” Binda asked.

Parks Canada first tried in 2018-19, spending $1,920 and netting zero frogs. In 2019-20, they spent another $2,000 with the same outcome. After a break, the hunt resumed in 2021-22, costing $2,207 but still with no success. In 2022-23, after spending $3,882, they finally caught one frog.

Meanwhile, a 2023-24 attempt killed 100 frogs for $5,079—a cost of $149 per frog. Records reveal that Parks Canada spent $2.6 million on various animal culls between 2018 and 2024 and plans to spend $3.3 million more.

“The frogs appear to be slipping through the fingers of Parks Canada bureaucrats just as fast as our hard-earned tax dollars are,” Binda added. With spending spiraling out of control, taxpayers are left wondering why Parks Canada continues with such costly blunders. It’s time to cut the losses and rethink these wasteful operations.