Thousands of Frogs Killed in Australian “Celebration”
Yesterday in Sydney Australia thousands of poisonous cane toads were killed with happy hearts and a celebratory mood. The celebration even has a name: Toad Day Out.
Here is the back story: In 1935 the toads were imported from South America to eat the beetles that were giving the Australians trouble. But the toads couldn’t jump high enough to eat the beetles. The toads breed ultra fast and now there are millions. And they are threatening some local species. “They spread diseases, such as salmonella, and produce highly toxic venom from glands in their skin that can kill would-be predators. The toads are also voracious eaters, chomping up insects, frogs, small reptiles and mammals _ even birds.”
In case you’re wondering, the pic is of a girl weighing a frog right before it dies. See her smile… Isn’t that precious. What a fun Sunday event for the whole family (close sarcasm tag).
Here is the perfect example of why bringing in a foreign species is a BAD idea. Eco sysems are delicate. You can’t just say, “Oh, we’ve got a problem with beetles. Let’s fix it by bringing in this toad we know very little about.” And now decades later, kids are killing them for fun in some morbid day fair of slaughter.
What I really hate is that killing is always the method of choice. Not relocation, containment, sterilization, or any wildlife management program that doesn’t involve killing.
Read the whole article to get super grossed out by the festivities…
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