An Australian state declared war on giant frogs

People in Australia's Queensland state are participating in the campaign to hunt for a toxic giant frog native to the Americas.

An American poison frog.Photo: bluechameleon.org.

American giant frog (Bufo marinus) is a poisonous frog from Central America and South America. They were brought into Australia in 1935 to kill harmful insects, but then they became destructive animals. The number of poison frogs has increased rapidly in recent years.

Shane Knuth, a Queensland politician, launched a campaign called Toad Day Out to wipe out this poisonous frog. Knuth asked people to catch poison frogs in a living condition so that experts would kill them "in a humane and scientific way".

Poisonous frogs are thought to be the culprits causing the death of many crocodiles in Australia. Crocodiles often lose their lives by poisoning frogs after swallowing them. Children also participated in the campaign to catch poison frogs. A boy said: "I don't remember how many children I caught but they were all fat."

James Cook University scientists (Australia) revealed that the majority of American giant frogs will be brought to this university. Here people will lose their fertility or bring them to laboratories for scientific research. However, the biggest frogs will be sold to furry production facilities.