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Jockey Club's donation vital

I WRITE with reference to an article headlined, ''Zoologist finds new home for threatened frogs'' (South China Morning Post, July 19). In particular, I would take issue with a statement in the article that '' . . . the frogs were saved by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) . . . ''.

In fact, the conservation work on Romer's Frog is being carried out by the Department of Zoology at the University of Hongkong, and is being funded by the Royal Hongkong Jockey Club Charities Ltd. While the WWF have offered moral support, and the Agriculture and Fisheries Department of the Hongkong Government have given logistical assistance, our attempts to conserve Romer's Frog would not have been possible without the Jockey Club's donation to the University of Hongkong.

This is not to say that WWF do not do good work in Hongkong; it has made strenuous efforts to preserve what is left of the countryside. However, given the parlous condition of much of the Hongkong environment, and the lack of an overall government conservation policy for local wildlife, it is a pity that the Jockey Club's support of conservation efforts was not highlighted in the article.

Dr DAVID DUDGEON Reader Department of Zoology University of Hongkong

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