Virus planned to counter cane toad

[emad]

Bernard O'Riordan in Sydney
Saturday February 26, 2005
The Guardian

Scientists believe a genetically engineered virus may be their only effective weapon against the cane toad, which experts fear may be about to invade Western Australia.

Bufo marinus has reproduced by the billions since it was introduced to Australia from Hawaii in 1935 to control scarab beetles, a sugar cane pest in north Queensland.

Cane toads, which can produce up to 30,000 eggs at a time, and live beyond five years, are regarded as a menace. They have spread into northern New South Wales and across much of the tropical wilderness region of the Northern Territory known as the Top End.

The authorities declared war after a recent infestation in the Northern Territory, 47 miles from the Western Australian border. Next month a panel of experts on the cane toad including more than a dozen top scientists, will discuss how best to stop them before they cross the border.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/australia/story/0,12070,1425714,00.html

[Warpy]

1. If you ever locate the video, "Cane Toads," grab it

It's one of my most prized possessions, sort of a combination of stodgy wildlife show meets Monty Python, with enough Aussie humor to launch it right over the top.

Cane toads are not only crowding out native species, they're also responsible for a lot of small animal deaths due to their venom.

Of course, the local diehard hippies have figured out how to use the venom as a drug.

[NYC]

2. Marine Toad Illustration:

[Sufi Marmot]

3. They tried to genetically engineer the mousepox virus to make mice sterile

...and things didn't go quite as planned (the engineered virus killed the mice outright, even mice who were previously vaccinated against mousepox). I'm not entirely comfortable with the Australians' propensity to use genetically modified viruses in the service of pest control....

-SM