Barry Haase (Kalgoorlie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to raise awareness of the lack of common sense and leadership being shown by federal and state governments in addressing the issue of cane toads. This foreign species was introduced to Queensland in 1935 to control the cane beetle. Kimberley Toad Busters is a community group, with 3,500 members, receiving meagre funding from the governments of Western Australia and the Commonwealth. Donations are also made by the public and volunteers themselves. Between February and August 2009, 22,046 toads were collected and euthanised, using carbon dioxide. In that time this group volunteered 16,268 hours. It is now 2010 and the federal government has effectively given up the fight and is concentrating on saving the wild life from the cane toads, using methods such as relocating quolls to cane-toad-free coastal islands rather than removing the actual toads.

In the face of this defeatist attitude, Kimberley Toad Busters, led by Lee Scott-Virtue, continue their valuable work on the ground, removing cane toads from the environment as well as gathering important research data. The inability of the state and federal governments to agree on a standard method for euthanasing cane toads is hampering the efforts of the Kimberley Toad Busters. Carbon dioxide euthanasia, developed over five years in the Northern Territory, is the most humane method of euthanasing cane toads, suitable for large volumes of cane toads on overnight toad busts. Cane toads become immediately anaesthetised when exposed to 100 per cent carbon dioxide. Cane toads are kept exposed to carbon dioxide for a minimum of four hours to ensure they have all died, whilst remaining anaesthetised. This method has now been brought to a halt by the Department of Environment and Conservation based on laboratory observations of the euthanasing of just two cane toads.

Since early 2009 Kimberley Toad Busters have been trying to obtain a Regulation 4 Authority for entry into state and national parks to catch and euthanase cane toads. However, entry has been denied because one of the requirements of entry is the use of the Department of the Environment and Conservation’s approved methods of euthanasia. In 2009 Kimberley Toad Busters were advised by the conservation department to consider carbon dioxide as an anaesthetic and then to use a secondary technique such as blunt trauma to ensure an effective humane kill. Blunt trauma, pithing or decapitation, which are all secondary techniques, are not supported as a suitable method for euthanasia, given that volunteers find these methods quite abhorrent. The volunteer group is made up of both quite elderly and very young volunteers. Toad busting is an activity that has brought many members of the communities together from all walks of life. Now we have the national parks protecting—(Time expired)

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