Toad Media

MEDIA RELEASE

19 August 2011

TOADS THREATEN SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA

Toads continue to threaten fragile ecosystems in Australia, but this time, in the south. Recent bio-security surveys found toads have been swept downstream by QLD floodwaters and are now less than 500km from the SA border and the Ramsar listed Coongie Lakes in South Australia. They have also established themselves in the Murray-Darling river system and could potentially end up in Victoria.

The Stop the Toad Foundation (STTF) is urging the Federal Government to act before it is too late and toads are found in every State in Australia. The Foundation, based in Western Australia, has been trying to limit toad movements into WA for the past six years, but has not received much support from the WA State Government.

“We have been requesting support from the WA Government to trial fencing to keep toads out of certain areas within WA. It is a method that we have found to work very well and could potentially stop them from expanding their range. Unfortunately, the WA Government doesn’t seem interested,” said STTF Campaign Manager Kim Hands.

STTF will continue to seek support from the Government to trial the fencing strategy and in the meantime, show landholders across Australia how they too can use fencing to remove toads in their own backyards.

In conjunction with the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee and local Landcare groups, STTF will be holding free workshops in SE Queensland in October this year.

“The toad issue is a national one and it’s time to expand our work to the eastern front. The workshops will demonstrate how we use fences for toad control in NT and WA. The fences have worked well at keeping toads out of areas over here, so I’m sure they will also work well in the QLD community.’’

The workshops are schedule for:

• NED Landcare Office, 73 Campbell St, Oakey on Tuesday October 4th
• Dogwood Crossing @ Miles, Miles on Wednesday October 5th
• Mitchell Landcare Office, Mitchell on Thursday October 6th

For more information contact STTF’s Campaign Manager Kim Hands on [email protected] or 0400130397.

Fact file

• Toads were introduced into Australia in 1935 in an effort to control beetles eating the sugar cane.
• Toads produce toxins that are deadly to a range of endangered Australian wildlife including northern quolls, goannas, snakes and freshwater crocodiles. They also compete with native wildlife for habitat and food.
• The western frontline of toads is moving at least 40 km a year and toads are now well and truly into The Kimberley.
• Each female toad can lay 35000 eggs. The first rains indicate to the toads it is time to breed.
• STTF is a non-profit, non-government organization established in 2005. There is one staff member, who divides her time between Perth and Kununurra.
• STTF has held The Great Toad Muster for the past 5 years. A total of 200,000 toads have been removed with the help of hundreds of volunteers around Australia.
• STTF uses temporary and permanent fencing to control toads.
• The Emma gorge fence is the first toad proof fence to be erected in the East Kimberley. It is 1.34km long and took 12 days to build. The total cost was just over $7K.

Web Manager: Dave Graham - Web hosting & scripts: Alex Varlakov http://ozup.com/