Toad Media
ABC Stateline
Transcript
Cane toads
13/05/2005
Reporter: KIRSTEN MURRAY
KIRRIN McKECHNIE: Now to the
dreaded cane toad. They've hopped across the border to the Northern
Territory, where the government there has resolved to try to stop
them dead. But with biological controls years away, Territorians
have decided to try traps. So a competition has been held for the
best trap design, which may itself soon be seen popping-up in Queensland
backyards. Kirstin Murray reports.
KIRSTIN MURRAY: Northern Territorians are determined
to stop our cane toad infestation in its tracks, and a call for
the best toad trap was met with keen interest from around the country.
Six teams, half of them Queenslanders, recently competed for a $15,000
prize and the title of 'Australia's Greatest Toad-Trapper'. The
contenders ranged from the highly sophisticated.
(FOOTAGE OF CANE TOAD TRAPS)
SEAN WEBSTER, NT PARKS AND WILDLIFE: This is a
very high-tech one. They build bird deterrents, so they've applied
themselves to the cane toad problem.
KIRSTIN MURRAY: To the very basic.
(FOOTAGE OF BASIC TOAD TRAP)
SEAN WEBSTER: This one operates on a different
principle to the others. This one actually operates in the day.
It's a shelter.
KIRSTIN MURRAY: It's 70 years since cane toads
were introduced to Queensland from South America. In the Territory,
northern quolls, snakes and goannas have already fallen victim.
And there's now grave concerns for Darwin's frill-necked lizard
population.
KEITH SAAFELD, NT PARKS AND WILDLIFE: The NT's
decided that we really do need to do something about managing cane
toads, that the days of complacency are gone, when the answer was,
"Well, you can't do anything, so you don't bother trying."
KIRSTIN MURRAY: Other governments are also starting
to take action, with significant investments in biological and gene
technology. But scientists believe any form of biological control
is at least a decade away. So, in the meantime, traps are the only
form of defence.
KEITH SAAFELD: One trap by itself probably isn't
going to do a great deal, but if you end up with hundreds or thousands
of traps out there, then you will have a realistic impact on the
population.
KIRSTIN MURRAY: Staff at Parks and Wildlife in
the Northern Territory were inundated with more than 100 different
designs for toad traps. But any entries employing inhumane means
of trapping or killing, like the use of Dettol, were immediately
disqualified.
KEITH SAAFELD: It's definitely not a gimmick.
It's very much about finding a trap that people can use in their
backyards.
KIRSTIN MURRAY: The local territory group, Frogwatch,
was one finalist and uncovered an unexpected spin-off from the amphibious
menace.
GRAEME SAWYER, FROGWATCH: It looks like it may
be a way of disposing of all the toad bodies in a broader scale
is turning them into liquid fertiliser. One of our guys in Yirrkala
in northeast Arnhem Land, in particular, has been doing it on a
large scale and they've been finding that their bananas and pawpaws
are the best they've ever grown.
KIRSTIN MURRAY: The six teams were tested at three
different sites, including Hayes Creek, 150 kilometres south of
Darwin.
BOB FISHER, HAYES CREEK PUBLICAN: If you went out on a hunt, you'd
get 100 between 50 and 100, most nights around the 100 mark. I just
go round with a shovel yeah, because I know where most of them are
hanging out at night, so I just go around and bash them. You'll
get 50% of what you see.
KIRSTIN MURRAY: Parks and Wildlife officer Sean
Webster tested the contending traps over 15 nights.
(FOOTAGE 0F TOAD IN TRAP)
SEAN WEBSTER: And I'll just look inside the trap.
And we've got one here there's a big male.
KIRSTIN MURRAY: In the morning, the trapped toads
are weighed, measured and marked with nail polish before being released,
so the base population remains constant throughout the experiment.
After the toads were tallied, it was time to announce the winner.
The gong went to this diesel mechanic from Katherine. During the
trial, his trap caught a dozen toads a night and more than 100 in
total. The secret was using a light to attract insects, and in turn,
attract the toads.
PAUL PAKER, WINNING INVENTOR: Hundreds aren't
really gonna help. We need to get them into basically every fourth
or fifth backyard to basically have some impact on the cane toad.
KIRSTIN MURRAY: But the best way to dispose of
toads is still contentious. Hayes Creek publican, Bob Fisher's method.
BOB FISHER: You just bash 'em with a shovel.
KIRSTIN MURRAY: Has a few fans.
DAVE TOLLNER, NORTHERN TERRITORY FEDERAL MP: If
I was a cane toad, I'd much prefer to go out by being belted over
the head with a golf club than I would being stuck in a deep freeze.
SENATOR IAN CAMPBELL, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: I
remember as a child growing up in Brisbane, I used to shoot them
with my air rifle. That was relatively ineffective, I can report.
KEITH SAAFELD: The best way to kill cane toads
from the Parks and Wildlife's perspective is to freeze them. We
can't advise people to take any other action because that potentially
would be in breach of the Animal Welfare Act.
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