ABOVE: The Ashby Toaders collected 348 toads on one night including this monster. Photo: Matt Morris
Susanna Freymark
This month a lot of cane toads are going to die.
That is the purpose of the big Australian cane toad bust happening from January 24-30 .
Communities across Australia are joining in as organised groups or individually.
Clarence Landcare and Watergum (a Queensland based group) have organised several Great Cane Toad Busts in the area.
People are being asked to collect toads and pop them into their fridge for 24 hours.
“This slips them into a natural amphibian state called torpor,” a Clarence Landcare member said.
“It’s basically a comatose state and their pain receptors are shut off. Once they’re in this state they can be transferred to the freezer, and they don’t experience the pain of being frozen.”
Females can lay up to 70,000 babies each year so each fertile adult removed from the environment has a significant impact on the local population.
Bonalbo
Rappville
Rappville Cane Toad Muster is on January 25 and 27 at 7.30pm at the Rappville Showgrounds.
Come along and bring buckets with lids, torches, gloves, nets and sturdy shoes.
Kyogle
The Kyogle Cane Toad Muster includes a Cane Toad Info Session in the KMI Hall supper room on Thursday, January 27 at 6.30pm.
All cane toads collected will be lodged here as part of national cane toad bust.
If you trap a cane toad as big as the one pictured above, we’d love to see it. Email a pic to us at indynr.com
and then