Army called in to fight toxic toad invasion in Australia
Oh wow, this is getting way out of hand! In February we reported the evolved toxic toads had researchers stationing themselves about 40 miles (64km) east of Australia’s port city of Darwin, a region where the cane toads had not yet spread. A month later these toxic toads invaded the city of Darwin…
And now the Australian state government called for the army to be deployed against the invasion of toxic toads! Battalions of imported cane toads are marching relentlessly across northern Australia and the West Australian government wants soldiers to intercept the environmental barbarians.
State Environment Minister Mark McGowan has written to Defence Minister Brendan Nelson asking permission to use soldiers based in the neighbouring Northern Territory to kill the toads.
“The army in the Northern Territory is greater than any other part of Australia,” McGowan told national radio. “We’d seek the Commonwealth (federal government) to help us in fighting this terrible threat to native fauna in Western Australia.”
The toads, Bufo Marinus, were introduced from South America into northeast Queensland state in the 1930s to control another pest: Beetles that were ravaging the sugar cane fields of the tropical northern coasts.
But the toads now number in the millions and are spreading westward through the Northern Territory, upsetting the country’s ecosystem in their wake.
Cane toads have poisonous sacs on the back of their heads full of a venom so powerful it can kill crocodiles, snakes or other predators in minutes. All attempts to fight the spread of the toads so far have failed.
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June 19th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Gallipoli of the Cane Toads?
*dodges incoming missiles*
June 19th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
[…] Oh wow, this is getting way out of hand! In February we reported the evolved toxic toads had researchers stationing themselves about 40 miles (64km) east of Australia’s port city of Darwin, a region where the cane toads had not yet spread. A month later these toxic toads invaded the city of Darwin… […]
June 20th, 2006 at 7:51 am
The army wouldn’t be necessary if the Australians had maintained their rights to gun ownership. Instead of begging for help, they could take matters into their own hands.
June 20th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
[…] But alas, this is not the next great feature on Sci-Fi Saturday for which I would gladly accept the royalties. No ladies and gentlemen, this is real life. Australia is being overrun by… wait for it… wait for it… Poisonous Frogs! […]
June 20th, 2006 at 2:57 pm
Naw, let the army have its fun. Plenty of stuff in Q’land can do these fellas in. Let em get bit by the funnels, the salties,
the king browns, the taipans…… Oh! I meant the army, not the toads; you would’nt want to advocate cruelty to aminals now WOULD’NT YOU? Of course the Army will fail, and the toads will decimate all of Australia, adapting to eating people, roos, crocs, and all. Then when the place is depopulated, the Indonesians will move in and clean up the mess from people that obviousely cannot manage their own affairs.