DAILY EXAMINER (Northern Rivers, Australia) 22 February 11 Toad cull nets almost 1500 (Graham Orams)
This town ain't big enough for the both of us.
That's probably what volunteers were saying in Yamba on Sunday evening as they took part in the 13th annual community cane toad round-up.
This year, 186 people registered for the event and managed to collect almost 1500 cane toads.
The event was run by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Land and Property Management Authority, Clarence Valley CIA and Angourie Dune Care Group.
NPWS Ranger Steve Hodgson said the round-up was to reduce the potential of cane toads spreading to areas further south.
“The cane toad collections appear to have reduced cane toad numbers in the Yamba and Angourie areas,” he said.
“This is a credit to the efforts of all the volunteers who have consistently helped to reduce the spread of these pests.
“The cane toad is a serious threat to native wildlife. It has a voracious appetite and can feed on and compete with other native animals for food.”
Meanwhile, Greens candidate for Clarence Janet Cavanaugh said cane toad numbers in the Clarence Valley would explode due to the NSW Government's failure to provide co-ordination of local control efforts.
“The annual Yamba Cane Toad Muster is the flagship community event to highlight the need to control cane toads in the Clarence Valley but (Sunday's) muster may be the last,” she said.
“The musters have ... involved hundreds of people and have been responsible for the collection and humane disposal of thousands of toads.
“However, budget cuts and a change in direction in the department means the musters may not occur in future years, and that NPWS staff and contractor time spent collecting toads will be drastically reduced.
“I am concerned that, in the absence of sustained efforts, the remaining toads at Angourie will be allowed to spread back into Wooloweyah and Yuraygir National Park, and we will have cane toads in the main streets of Maclean and Iluka.”
Toad cull nets almost 1500