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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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Hated toads culled in Australia
Source: Agencies |
March 30, 2009, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THOUSANDS of poisonous cane toads met their fate yesterday as gleeful Australians gathered for a celebratory mass killing of the hated amphibians, with many of the creatures' corpses being turned into fertilizer for the very farmers they've plagued for years.
Hundreds of participants in five communities across northern Queensland snacked on sausages, sipped cold drinks and picked up prizes as the portly pests were weighed, measured and killed in the state's inaugural "Toad Day Out" celebration.
"To see the look on the faces of the kids as we were handling and weighing the toads and then euthanizing them was just..." Townsville City Councillor Vern Veitch said, breaking off to let out a contented sigh. "The children really got into the character of the event."
The toads - which can grow up to 20 centimeters in length - were imported from South America to Queensland in 1935 in a failed attempt to control beetles on sugarcane plantations. Trouble was, the toads couldn't jump high enough to eat the beetles, which live on top of cane stalks.
The toads bred rapidly, and their millions-strong population now threatens many local species across Australia. They spread diseases, such as salmonella, and produce highly toxic venom from glands in their skin that can kill would-be predators.
Queensland politician Shane Knuth figured the best way to combat the problem was to gather Australians en masse for a targeted hunt. With each adult female cane toad capable of producing 20,000 eggs, he said, killing even a few thousand toads could ultimately wipe out millions.
The creatures were killed either by freezing or by being placed in plastic bags filled with carbon dioxide.
Hundreds of participants in five communities across northern Queensland snacked on sausages, sipped cold drinks and picked up prizes as the portly pests were weighed, measured and killed in the state's inaugural "Toad Day Out" celebration.
"To see the look on the faces of the kids as we were handling and weighing the toads and then euthanizing them was just..." Townsville City Councillor Vern Veitch said, breaking off to let out a contented sigh. "The children really got into the character of the event."
The toads - which can grow up to 20 centimeters in length - were imported from South America to Queensland in 1935 in a failed attempt to control beetles on sugarcane plantations. Trouble was, the toads couldn't jump high enough to eat the beetles, which live on top of cane stalks.
The toads bred rapidly, and their millions-strong population now threatens many local species across Australia. They spread diseases, such as salmonella, and produce highly toxic venom from glands in their skin that can kill would-be predators.
Queensland politician Shane Knuth figured the best way to combat the problem was to gather Australians en masse for a targeted hunt. With each adult female cane toad capable of producing 20,000 eggs, he said, killing even a few thousand toads could ultimately wipe out millions.
The creatures were killed either by freezing or by being placed in plastic bags filled with carbon dioxide.
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