NT: Beat the toads with bats: federal MP

AAP General News (Australia)
04-11-2005
NT: Beat the toads with bats: federal MP

By Karen Michelmore

DARWIN, April 11 AAP - A federal MP wants Northern Territory parents to arm their children
with cricket bats and golf clubs and smash cane toads for six.

David Tollner, of the Country Liberal Party, said locals should be killing the toxic
pests any way they can as they march quickly towards Darwin.

But animal rights activists have labelled the bludgeoning cruel, while toad experts
believe cane toad cricket or golf possibly won't kill enough of the warty creatures.

Cane toads have marched across Australia from Queensland, where they were introduced
in the 1930s to kill pests in sugar cane.

Along the way they have killed thousands of native animals - from lizards to crocodiles
- including in the world heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.

They are expected to reach Darwin by the next wet season late this year, with two toads
recently caught on Darwin's outskirts.

"My view is, stop the political correctness, just go and arm the kids of the territory
with cricket bats and send them to work," said Mr Tollner, who grew up killing toads in
Queensland.

"It seems okay for native animals to go around and eat these things and die horrible deaths.

"I think they are a toxic, noxious pest and we need to get rid of them any way we possibly can."

RSPCA national president Hugh Wirth said cane toads needed to be eliminated, but described
the practice as cruel.

He said most people wouldn't have the skill to kill a toad with a single blow.

"There are very few people who can wield a golf club, a cricket bat, or even a baseball
and fulfil the requirement of a humane death," Mr Wirth said.

"If they only hit the toad with a glancing blow or don't even hit its head and damages
other parts, of course that's what's going to happen, it will suffer.

"The most sensible thing I have heard is the argument to round them up and put them
in the freezer.

"The fact that the toad should be eliminated ... that's not a licence to be inhumane."

But Mr Tollner said most people didn't want to pick up cane toads and put them in their freezer.

"They are a pretty ugly looking creature," he said.

"You don't want to have a toxic animal sitting in your freezer beside your ice cream
and your frozen fish fingers."

Frogwatch NT coordinator Graeme Sawyer said it would be more effective if people trapped
cane toads, where they could collect dozens in a single hit, and put them in a plastic
bag and gassed them.

"My only concern is that golf clubs aren't a good enough implement to kill cane toads
and smash the skull," he said.

He said cricket bats were better or lumps of wood because they were heavier than golf
clubs, which would probably just injure the animal.

"I support killing cane toads; some of the ethical issues are hard to handle when you
consider the damage cane toads are doing to our wild," he said.

AAP km/was/bwl

KEYWORD: TOADS NIGHTLEAD

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