Ashby toaders bust monster in Great Cane Toad Bust

Their poison can kill pets and native wildlife and injure humans, and they are spreading. This North Coast group is helping to do something about it.

More than 17,000 NSW participants have signed up for the Great Cane Toad Bust as part of the National Landcare-led bushfire recovery grants to help rid the environment of this invasive pest.

The week-long event held from the 24-30 January encourages communities and environmental groups to humanely catch and dispose of tadpoles and toads.

Grafton resident Jacinda Fletcher was out on her second cane toad bust at Ashby, near Maclean, when she caught the largest toad in their region: a 420g female.

“This was definitely the biggest one of all three so far,” she said.

Ashby toad busters with their monster 420g toad,Hayden and Jacinda Fletcher and Keanu Bantick.

“Most of what everyone caught would fit in your hand.

“Ashby is quite rural, a village with cane fields and we just walked along the road picking them up.”

Ms Fletcher got involved with the cane toad bust after her partner, Matthew Morris, joined the Clarence Landcare group as a field officer and brought some of the toads home.

“I haven’t done much with toads before,” Ms Fletcher said.

“He works out in Lawrence and the first bust we all went to was the one at the Yamba golf club.

“Hayden and his best mate Keanu, they were a bit bored over the holidays so we took them out on a toad bust.

“They both had a ball.”

Ms Fletcher said groups meet about 8pm at a designated location then establish a plan for the following hours.

“When we come back we count all the toads and tally them up as juveniles, males and females,” she said.

Ms Fletcher said she wasn’t afraid of toads but they “sure were ugly”.

A 420g female cane toad, collected on Friday 21st January 2022 at Ashby NSW at a toad bust under the Clarence Valley Conservation in Action Landcare Group also known as the CVCIA

“My partner brought a couple of the really big ones home before we got involved so it wasn’t so gross,” she said.

“Keanu took a while before he would pick one up, he said “nah I’m not touching them” but after about eight or so he picked one up.”

She said her son, Hayden, was more enthusiastic.

Ms Fletcher said they also had a go at toad hunting in Brooms Head.

“There were heaps at Yamba and Ashby but not as many at Brooms Head,” she said.

Closer to home however, it became quite a competition for them.

“We were walking along the road and it’d be like “Quick there’s one! There's one!” and it’s a bit of a competition with the kids,” she said.

“Once you know the kinds of areas to look, like edges of trees, in short grass and anywhere near a little bit of water they’re easy to spot.”

Ms Fletcher volunteers with WIRES and said catching toads was a significant achievement in stopping them from causing damage to wildlife and the environment.

“Being in WIRES we’re saving animals coming into care after being poisoned by cane toads, though it’s hard to diagnose sometimes,” she said.

“Toads sit in puddles and pets’ water bowls and excrete their poison from their glands into the water.

“Animals that don’t know drink from the same water and can get very sick.”

Ms Fletcher said another great thing about the cane toad bust was getting out at night and seeing wildlife that you wouldn’t ordinarily see.

“Some folks saw an echidna, another man saw a bandicoot, and yeah, there were the owls too,” she said.

About 30,000 cane toads have been removed from the environment under the project.

Education project officer for Clarence Landcare Kelly McRae said by removing cane toads from your garden, you are protecting your pets, supporting native wildlife, and making your garden a nicer place to be for you and your family.