GLADSTONE OBERVER (Australia) 04 November 10 Toad busting season begins (Kelli Downey)
They’re ugly, warty pests that cause huge damage to the environment.
This is the very reason the Gladstone region is about to do battle against the pesky cane toad.
Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) will kick off their latest Toad-busting season this Tuesday at 6.30pm with a barbecue at Reg Tanna Duck Pond.
Members of the community, young and old, are invited to get on your gloves, get out your torches and get involved with the 2010/11 Toad-busting season.
CVA Volunteer Engagement Officer Pamela MacDonald said the group needed support from the whole community to return local waterways to a more natural state and give native frogs a chance to survive.
“Toad busting has always been a huge hit with friends and families around Gladstone,” Ms MacDonald said.
“Squeamish people make the best toad spotters, toad counters and bag holders so everyone in the group can be involved.”
Managed by CVA and funded by Gladstone Regional Council, Toad busters began in 2001 due to public demands that something be done to rid the community of toads which had reached plague proportions. Target toad-busting sites are Reg Tanna and Beaumont parks plus other waterways in the region.
The typical toad-busting evening involves teams of people catching toads and carefully placing them in a supplied bag for safe and humane disposal.
Within an hour captured toads are put into a freezer where their natural inclination is to hibernate.
Once frozen, selected toads are collected by Dr Scott Wilson from CQUniversity Gladstone Campus and scrutinised for signs of malformation.
Interested volunteers and for more information phone 4972-4969 or call in at 14 Goondoon Street.
Toad busting season begins