Cane toad cull attempt to encourage animals to turn on each other

FORGET golf clubs, the freezer or even your car, there is a devilishly cunning new way to put an end to the onslaught of pesky cane toads, and it’s being tested right here in Queensland.

Queensland's unofficial state mascot / emblem the Cane Toad comes out for the announcement of the State of Origin teams Picture: David Clark

A CANNABALISTIC impulse has inspired a method to eradicate Queensland’s most notorious pest.

Cane toads, the legacy of a failed attempt to eradicate the cane beetle, have plagued Queenslanders since they were introduced in 1935.

But, The Morning Bulletin reports, the Rockhampton and Yeppoon communities could become part of a world-first attempt to fight the warty pests with its own toxins, using baits coated in a chemical released by eggs which attracts tadpoles from other hatchings.

Cane toads may be living on borrowed time if a new way to cull them proves effective. Picture: David Clark

“Cane toad tadpoles from one hatching are attracted to and feed on unhatched eggs, and we can hijack this behaviour to specifically target and capture cane toad tadpoles,” University of Queensland’s Institute of Molecular Bioscience professor Rob Capon explained.

Prof Capon and his team collected the toxin from adult cane toads, coated it onto air stones for controlled release, and placed these inside traps in monitored water bodies.

Greening Australia have just received their first batch of baits, and invite the locals to target public and private water bodies using these baits for the trapping of cane toad tadpoles and capture of adult cane toads.

The baits do not harm frogs and other native wildlife.