Hopping mad over cane toad study cut

[Fuscus]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10533761%5E30417,00.html

 

[Sdaji]

Gee, poor aboriginals will loose a food source :roll: don't worry about stuff going extinct or anything!
It sucks that they can't finish their work.

 

[craig23]

rediculous hey...... as if aboriginals food source should even come into wildlife conservation.
I know how many people disagree with what im about to say, but I REALLY hope they are catching some of the last remaining Northern Quolls to breed and maintain in a captive situation. I think its pretty obvious they are going to end up all being extinct, so why let the rest of them die, they should be trapped, and some kind of collony or breeding program started up. Then when the cane toad issue has been delt with in the future, they can start re populating areas. Infact I think if its pretty obvious they are becoming extinct at a fast rate, efforts should be made to trap all of the remaining ones or at least as many thats needed to ensure the survival of the species.

craig

 

[Sdaji]

I couldn't agree more craig, same goes for many species, but unfortunately there are many who consider this approach to be terrible :roll:

 

[Fuscus]

Under normal circumstances the aboriginals would find an alternative food source, as they have done in central Australia where cats have moved in. It would be interesting if they start hunting the cane toads after learning how to prepare them properly, It is only the skin and poison sacs that are dangerous.

 

[Sdaji]

Yeah, that'd be awesome! Kill two birds with one stone

 

[Fuscus]

There is an effort to make a small area cane toad proof and keep a population in there. But it is only a bandaid solution, better to stop the cane toad from reaching plague levels in the first place. But that is well and truely in the too hard basket.

 

[Sdaji]

Didn't they stick quolls on an island as a backup which then was exposed to toads because of a freak weather event?

I'm just a tiny bit hopeful that the quolls may survive, after seeing a couple in the long toad infested townsville area last year. A real treat to see them!! I also saw one or two near Atherton, which of course is toady land as well.

 

[Fuscus]

What happens it that the cane toad has a massive population in newly colonized areas. Almost all predators encounter a cane toad and try it. After a while there is a huge drop in cane toad numbers (In townsvile it was due to starvation) and some animals can make a bit of a comeback.

 

[instar]

its a very big problem indeed.
i do aghree with craig, the quoll research should have been allowed to continue, those b***** polititians spend more than $20,000 each year on meaningless junkets. As craig said, they should atleast allow trapping of some quolls for a breeding program, anf future dispersal in to toad free quoll habitat. Goannas however are also important, if you remove a huge number (be thru hunting or predation/toads etc) of any animal from the food chain, the effects knock on to others. I think it boils down to gov greed and lack of serious priorty. Aboriginal peoples, may well lose more than one food source if the gov does not get the finger out. Given the gov introduced the things 70 yrs ago, its a bit rude of them not to make any research project, aimed at destroying toads and preserving the nativefood chain a big priority. How much was spent on parliment house?
Have researchers had any luck, with perhaps isolating a bufo specific virus or something? Must be extremly big ask, without affecting native frogs n toads, but after 70 yrs of (EDITED) surely its time for really big effort.

 

[craig23]

The thing is as well, even if the government doesnt want the burden of keeping and breeding the Quolls in large number, licence private keepers to be able to do it. Im sure there are enough wildlife lovers that would love to have a breeding pair of quolls in a nice enclosure in their back yard in NT.. Send pairs of them off to zoos all over the world and like fuscus said, effort should be put into a LARGE area of national park and make it toad proof so vanurable species can be protected. There are so many ways of ensuring the survival of the species, all depends weather the paper jockies see it that way. I mean hell, domesticate them if need be....why not start breeding Quolls to replace cats.

craig

 

[craig23]

As much as greenies dont like to hear it, bring an animal into the pet trade, put a monetry value on it, and you have just ensured the species survival. If they are going to become extinct, what does the government have to loose!!!

 

[instar]

Yes that seems a reasonable ask dont it Craig, sadly, there seems to be alot of "against" list for domesticatication of native mammals, ironic given our mammal extinction rate! But how to make an area toad proof in the first place, seems to be the $64,000 question, so to speak. I do wonder how much toad dispersal is caused by bird life dropping toads into other areas, waterways etc?

 

[Bryony]

thats really sad wish they could stick to it
We have research cane toads at the uni.....wonder what they are for......developing a new exterm-a-cane-toad?
i wish

 

[Fuscus]

Most cane toad dispersial is via truck.

 

[instar]

In plant produce Fuscus?
Surely they have stringent guidelines in place? should have anyways. :shock: Like border and depot checks of shipments etc?

 

[Fuscus]

In plant produce Fuscus?

Yep

Surely they have stringent guidelines in place?

HA.
If it caused visible economic damage like fruit fly there would be.

Bry - current research is a virus that prevents metamorphosis. They have already found a number of pathogens that kill bufos but they are just as effective on native frogs.

The research is underfunded.

 

[instar]

Oh I see. WE need teams like the guys in the honalulu thread.

 

[Fuscus]

As I have said before - a bounty.

 

[Sdaji]

Nah, a bounty would be almost useless.