But the more time I have spent studying Cane Toads,
the less that attitude has made sense to me. If you
think about it, blaming the toad for the ecological
havoc it has inflicted is desperately unfair. First, the
Cane Toad didn’t choose to come to Australia -
people brought it here. Second, the main ecological
impact of the toad comes from self-defence - it fatally
poisons animals that try to eat it. Frankly, I’d retaliate
‘Should we SLAUGHTER EVERY
Cane Toad we see? If so, WHY ,
and HOW should we do it?’
too if you tried to eat me. And third, recent research
is showing that the ecological impact of Cane Toads
over most of their range - that is, in places where they
have already been present for a few decades - is much
less severe than most people think.
send that toad in the backyard to the big swamp in
the sky, exactly how should we do it? Fortunately,
research has given us a solid basis from which to
consider those questions.
My own conclusion is that it makes sense to kill Cane
Toads only in situations where removing them is
likely to reduce the species’ spread to new areas, or to
decrease their impact on native wildlife. And when we
need to kill Cane Toads, I think that we should do so
as ethically and humanely as if we were culling Koalas.
How did I come to this very un-Australian perspec-
tive? My recent book Cane Toad Wars tells the story of
my conversion from toad-hater to toad-admirer, and
you can get the whole story there. But for a quick
snapshot, the easiest way to explain my change of
heart is to examine some of the things that we have
learned about Cane Toads over the last few years. I’ll
review our research results concerning two topics.
Left: after years of studying Cane Toads, biologist Rick Shine
is questioning Aussie attitudes to this much-detested invader.
Rick is the one on the left. Image by Terri Shine.
So I reckon it’s time for Australian animal-lovers to
Above: “toad-busting” is a popular sport across much of
stop, take a deep breath, and give some serious
Australia, giving people a chance to hunt down the alien
thought to the matter. Should we slaughter every
amphibians. This photo by Reid Tingley shows fellow scientist
Cane Toad we see? If so, why? And if we do decide to Matt Greenlees with two handfuls of squirming prey.