How to stop the toads

More than 50 people attended a seminar in Kununurra last Friday aimed at putting up a fight against the advance of cane toads into WA.

The meeting urged authorities at the NT/WA Border to be more vigilant in making sure the toads don't cross the border as unnoticed passengers in vehicles.

The seminar followed on a similar one in Broome earlier in the week.

The seminars were organised by tour guide/environmentalist Russell Gueho.

Those in attendence were made aware of the latest research and the latest biological weapons that may be used to stop the pest's westward march.

Mr Gueho told the seminar that the impact of a toad invasion on WA would be significant and penalties should apply to anyone caught bringing them into WA.

He encouraged participants to contact members of parliament in an effort to get more backing to fight the invasion.

The seminar was timely in Kununurra, coming only a couple of weeks after the first live toad was discovered in the town.

It is believed to have 'hitched' a ride on a vehicle.

There have been numerous reports of people sighting toads on the Victoria Highway close to Timber Creek and even further west.

Tourism operator Jeff Hayley presented the seminar with a map demonstrating where the 'line in the sand' could be drawn.

"Cane toads are not in WA and we have to keep it that way.

"We should be working with the NT Government inside the NT to start fighting these pests back out of both our States," he said.

Frogwatch Northern Australia representative Graeme Sawyer presented information on recent successes his organisation had achieved in the NT using a range of traps that had been designed in the last year.

He agreed with the call for a barrier to be built and said a Cane Toad proof fence at the NT/Qld Border would have been successful in slowing the invasion front of toads down considerably.

Recently, Sawyer has conducted localised trials near Katherine, which had been successful in clearing out isolated populations of toads in three to four days.