Cane toads have become a major pest in Australia
Darwin’s lord mayor Graeme Sawyer wants backpackers to kill cane toads, as part of tours, in a bid to help eliminate the pests in the Northern Territory.
The territory is currently infested with about 92 million cane toads, which are packed full of a deadly poison that kills most hungry creatures, including snakes, mammals and even small crocodiles.
As a result, they are seen as a serious threat to the unique biodiversity of World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.
Tour operators have already applied to include ‘toad-busting’ as part of trips to Kakadu, but have so far been turned down by park rangers.
However, events such as the Great Toad Muster, on the border of WA and NT have still attracted young travellers keen to kill the creatures.
Cane toads were introduced to Australia from Hawaii in 1935, in an attempt to stop cane beetles eating all the sugar crops. Unfortunately, the beetles were at the top of the plants, while cane toads are too fat to jump high, meaning the plan was a massive failure.
Since then, cane toads have multiplied and started killing off many native Australian species.
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