Cane toads (scientifically Bufo marinus or Rhinella marina) originally come from South America. They were introduced to Australia in 1935 with the idea of using them as pest control in sugarcane plantations. But the plan backfired: the animals multiplied quickly and became a nuisance.
The animals are omnivorous and attack everything – insects, spiders, worms, snails, but also small mammals such as young mice. They are mostly active at night. As many Australian animals have no resistance to toad venom, some mammals, snakes and reptiles are critically endangered because of the invasion.
IMAGO/isonphoto Beetles in sugarcane plantations weren't enough for the frogs – they eat basically everything they can find (and fit in their mouths)
200 million poison dart frogs on the move
According to the hunt organizer, Watergum, the frogs live for about ten years. Females can produce up to 35,000 eggs with each clutch. At least 200 million of these creatures now populate the country. “This means that every cane toad removed counts!”, emphasize conservationists.
The animals have spread from Queensland state to the Northern Territory, Western Australia and along the northeast coast of New South Wales, according to the New South Wales government's “Cane Toad Control Manual.” Large-scale community hunting is seen in some parts of the country as a competition in which people go out in groups and try to collect as many animals as possible.
“Human murder” via refrigerator and freezer combination
The hunt is action-packed and a lot of fun, Watergum says. But it is important to kill animals in a “humane way”. There are countless instructions for this on the Internet. “Cane toads deserve to be treated kindly and humanely, after all it’s not their fault they’re on the wrong continent,” Watergum writes on its website.
The best method is to place a container of frogs in the refrigerator for 24 hours. “During this cooling phase, the frogs peacefully fall into torpor, a semi-comatose state, similar to hibernation.” This way, they would no longer feel pain. The frogs must then be placed in the freezer for another 24 hours, where they die.
Immediate freezing without prior cooling can cause significant pain to animals, warns the organization. Furthermore, “zombie” experiments have already occurred: if animals are frozen directly, they may still be alive after thawing, Watergum activist Emily Vincent warned the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Toad golf” and frog races
Where toads are common in Australia, they are not treated as carefully everywhere: “toad golf” and “toad cricket”, in which live animals are used as balls, regularly provoke protests from toad activists. animal rights. Frog races are held in bars or folk festivals, and it is not uncommon for the animal to be kissed if it wins. People are also trying to do something with the animals that were killed – for example, they are trying to see if it is possible to make fertilizer from frog venom, and money and bags are now being made from frog leather.