Bust a move to protect native species

ENVIRONMENT group Watergum is inviting people to two community events to learn how to help control cane toads ahead of the Australia-wide Great Cane Toad Bust later this month.

The events will be held at Knox Park in Murwillumbah from 7pm on January 14 and Waterlily Park in Ocean Shores from 5.30pm on January 16.

As well as a talk on the impacts of cane toads, the events will include a hands-on workshop using world-first cane toad tadpole traps and lures, as seen on Gardening Australia, to break the breeding cycle.

Participants can then practice catching the pests ahead of the week-long Great Cane Toad Bust, in which communities across the country are encouraged to capture as many cane toads as possible from January 18 to 26, with humane RSPCA-approved stepped hypothermia used to euthanise cane toads.

Watergum’s invasive species manager Kelsi Taylor said consistent toad busting was key to reducing local populations and it was too big a job for one organisation to tackle alone.

“Community education and engagement is vital for controlling an invasive species as prolific and widespread as the cane toad,” she said.

Ms Taylor said since around 100 cane toads were introduced in 1935 to control cane beetles, they have become one of Australia’s most invasive species, now numbering more than 200 million.

They were introduced to Byron Bay in 1965 and had also spread south across the Queensland into the Tweed region by 1978.

Cane toads can produce more than 35 times more eggs than native green tree frogs, with a female producing up to 70,000 eggs per year.

Their toxins pose a significant threat to native wildlife, pets and the mining and agricultural industries.

During last year’s Great Cane Toad Bust, 50,000 cane toads were captured across the country.

If possible, participants are asked to bring their own toad busting kit, including a bucket with a lid, rubber or garden gloves, a torch and a reach extender claw tool to pick up cane toads if they don’t want to touch them with their hands or are unable to bend down.

For more information and to register, visit watergum.org/events