Invasive species experts have welcomed the state government’s move to implement a cane toad containment zone west of Broome.
Invasive species experts have welcomed the state government’s move to implement a cane toad containment zone west of Broome.
The West Kimberley town of Derby became the front line for the battle against the invasive pest in February, following the historic 2023 flooding of the central Kimberley which expedited the toad’s westward creep.
Now the state government has announced a group of researchers, led by Curtin University Professor Ben Phillips, has begun work on a Toad Containment Zone.
The zone will involve upgrading pastoral and irrigation infrastructure across a 150-kilometre stretch West of Broome, between the coast and the Great Sandy Desert.
Invasive Special Council conservation and biosecurity analyst Lyall Grieve said the looming threat of the toad could push 20 to 24 native animals to extinction.
“Some of these species are found nowhere else outside the Pilbara,” he said.
“Small mammals such as Kaluta, Ningaui and Planigales along with reptiles like the Pilbara Rock Goanna are expected to be some of the worst hit of the unique animals found only in this part of the world.
“To date, efforts to contain cane toads have failed, but the Pilbara’s unique landscape offers a real opportunity for success. Its narrow geography, few waterways, and natural barriers like the Great Sandy Desert make it easier to control and potentially eradicate cane toads.”
Cane toads were introduced to Australia in 1935 and arrived in north-eastern WA in 2009, progressing westwards through the Kimberley ever since.
The toads have so far covered more than a million square kilometres of Australia and have caused declines of up to 90 per cent in native animal populations in some areas.
One of the species most at threat from the cane toad is the dung beetle.
As their name suggests, dung beetles remove cattle faeces and play an important role in limiting parasite transmission between cattle.
For the Pilbara, which an area which comprises more than 150 pastoral stations responsible for around 300,000 cattle, the progression of the toad and subsequent impact on the beetle population could be devastating.
Mr Phillips said time was of the essence for the implementation of the zone.
“Developed from more than a decade of scientific research, the Toad Containment Zone was a key recommendation from the 2019 Federal Senate Inquiry into controlling the spread of cane toads and a priority action in bot the Nyangumarta Warrarn and Karajarri Indigenous Protected Area Plans,” he said.
“With cane toads currently less than 150 kilometres from Broome and projected to reach the containment zone by 2028, the urgency to implement this plan is critical.”
The state government will provide seed funding for the project’s first stage, with hopes private investment from stakeholders will be forthcoming in post-seed stages.
