Cane toads as sport: Conservation practice and animal ethics at odds

The ugly and unloved cane toad (Rhinella marinus, formerly Bufo marinus) creates tensions for people concerned about environmental management in Australia. Politics, both local and national, has been touched by the cane toad invasion across the northern third of the continent of Australia. Here is an introduced animal with a rapidly expanding range that has invaded a huge swathe of country. Even in places where political views are polarised and communities share little common ground, eradicating cane toads is perceived as a good thing. The ‘toad menace’ has motivated volunteer efforts and citizen science from diverse communities, including remote Aboriginal communities, urban Darwin and smaller and larger settlements in between. Local newspapers have monitored the arrival of the toads as they have spread across northern Australia, from mid-Queensland in the 1930s to Broome on the Western Australian coast. They are also travelling south, with sightings at Hawks Nest, just north of Newcastle, in 2017. This chapter considers the recent history of the toads and the practices for managing the environment they inspire. The cane toad irruption, especially the recent rapid geographical spread across northern Australia, has created a ‘crisis’ as well as discussions about emergency management and patriotic duty in the face of the problem animal.