Toad Media

MEDIA

25 September 2008

First Five Days of the 2008 Toad Muster

In the first 5 days of the 2008 Great Toad Muster approximately 20 volunteers from the Stop the Toad Foundation have caught and killed just under 20 000 cane toads, including
6 500 caught last night, at Auvergne station approximately 80km east of the WA border.

The 20 toad hunters were the advance party of 90 volunteers who will join in a concentrated toad-busting campaign over the next three weeks - the third run by the foundation at the end of the northern dry season each year.

Cane toads can survive for only a few days without water. When the natural waterholes dry up at the end of the dry season the toads depend on station dams for survival.

The foundation's first toad muster in September/October 2006 produced a haul of 48,000 cane toads, which significantly reduced the numbers remaining to breed.

During last year's muster the foundation tried putting up portable shade cloth barriers around existing dam fences. It was remarkably successful: more than 90 per cent of toads in an area could be eliminated in three days by blocking their access to water. The toads could not jump over the shade cloth barrier and piled up around the edges - sitting targets for the volunteers.

This year, before the shade cloth barriers were erected, volunteers caught 664 toads on Saturday and 3549 on Sunday.

The first fence barrier was put up on Sunday, and eight more will be installed around man-made waterholes over the next few days.

By next Saturday 25 volunteers will be consistently on site.

Please direct media enquiries to: Russell Gueho on 0408 954 254 / (08) 9192 9126 or Robert Edel on 0417 927 830.

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