Mammoth toadbusting effort working?
Social issues, Gunns, consumers, employees…
August 24, 2007Students invited to party at Docklands, Melb.
August 28, 2007There was some good news about the NT community’s fight against cane toads on early ABC radio last week. According to Graeme Sawyer of Northern Frogwatch numbers are down on what they usually are at this time of year. Check out the website…the level of community activity is really impressive. The battle rolls on…
In January 2007 Graeme reported that the Australian military had also joined the fight and will use the bins and traps on its Northern Territory bases. A collection bin at Shoal Bay tip is the first of its kind in Darwin city. He says the toads are treated well before disposal…
“The toads get taken from there and get gassed with carbon dioxide and then they get stock-piled in a freezer…When we’ve got a batch we put them through the fertiliser plant at Maloko and turn ’em into toad juice.”!!!
The NT Government will spend more on the toad fight
To eradicate the pest $660,000 has been promised to help the FrogWatch battle. Minister Scrymgour says the money will be used for a number of initiatives including a 24-hour telephone hotline and the continuation of cane toad musters. The funds will be used over the next three years.
“We’re still a long way off and I think the fight continues,” she says.
The WA Government has a new project aimed to wipe out cane toads
A WA research project aims to identify every cane toad gene and biological weaknesses to stop them moving across northern Australia and into WA.
The Australian Research Council has provided $260,000 for the project but Professor Grant Morahan from the WA Institute for Medical Research says his team needs millions more to ensure the success of the project.
“The cane toads are just about entering into Western Australia now and once they do get there they’ll be moving south along the coast. So it’s only a matter of time before they’ll be in Perth unless we do something to stop them.”
5 Comments
And ABC News last night, 10/9, showed that a big lace monitor is disappearing up there, suspected of ‘death by cane toad’, so they’d better get moving on that research.
I think Frogwatch is doing an excellent job and making a great impact!! It’s great to see people who REALLY CARE doing something for the environment! And i must commend Graeme Sawyer on all the work he has done for Frogwatch and the time and hard work he has put into trying to eradicate cane toads and continues to do even though he is now the mayor of Darwin (also doing an excellent job) and is the CEO of his company Entity1 Pty Ltd (which he has been for years). A true hard worker and amazing man!!
Good on you for giving credit where it’s obviously due Kylie, and a thanks to Graeme Sawyer for all his community/environmental efforts.
Here’s an update on toad busting from 2010. Its been a huge failure. Darwin is full of toads and so is West Australia- despite Graham Sawyer’s promises to keep them both toad-free. I imagine that Sawyers done quite well for himself out of it though. He got elected as mayor and no doubt gets hefty salaries from his WA and NT community groups…
And now the police have raided his house and laid drug and fire arms charges. Also charged was his daughter Kylie, a Frogwatch employee who, coincidentlt, shares the name of the person who comments so enthusiastically (above) on how great Graeme Sawyer is. Lame, lame…