Toad Media

MEDIA RELEASE

Saturday Mar 18 15:04 AEDT 2006

Cane toad found in fruit truck in Perth

The discovery in a Perth suburb of a female cane toad aboard a truck carrying fruit from Queensland has raised fears that one of eastern Australia's most noxious pests could soon invade the west.

The cane toad is now in three states - Queensland, the Northern Territory and northern New South Wales - and reports put it as close as 120km from the NT-WA border.

Several groups have sprung up in WA to try to stop its march into the state, including a Stop the Cane Toad movement which expressed concern that the unwelcome visitor had managed to reach Perth.

West Australians needed to be vigilant to protect the state's borders from the poisonous toad, which had a devastating impact on native fauna and the environment, group spokesman Dennis Beros said.

"All West Australians really need to be familiar with what cane toads look like and sound like," Mr Beros said.

It is not the first time cane toads have been found in WA.

Last year, three cane toads, two dead and one alive, were found in two separate incidents in the Perth suburbs of Kewdale and Canning Vale.

The toad was discovered on Thursday by workers at a freight shipping company, also in Kewdale, aboard a truck carrying bananas from Queensland.

The truck had travelled to WA across the Nullarbor.

The young adult cane toad would have been capable of reproducing thousands of eggs, authorities say.

A female cane toad can lay 70,000 eggs each year.

Environment Minister Mark McGowan said the government was spending $2.5 million to fight the advance of "these awful biological creatures".

He urged the federal government to match the states dollar for dollar.

"These things cause death and destruction on a scale that is unimaginable to most West Australians and we want to stop it, therefore we need all the help we can get," Mr McGowan said.

The truck was re-sealed and was on its way back to Queensland, he said.

The cane toad was killed and an autopsy will be carried out before it is donated to the West Australian Museum.