Saturday 13 September 2008

Cane Toads? Load of Arse.

So, we are being invaded by Australian cane toads are we? Buffo bullshit I call it. No one yet has actually caught one of the said toads and presented it to any experts for inspection so far as I am aware. But what do we have? Some individuals have said we have cane toads here and that they 'stowed away' on INTERFET vehicles in 1999 to get here. So everyone and his ill informed son are jumping on the Buffo bullshit bandwagon. Even Senator Bob Brown in Australia has called for an 'extermination programme' to wipe out the toads that havn't yet been proved to be here. Senator Brown even sent me an email this morning trying to confirm that cane toads are here. I think this was in response to an email I sent him regarding his unsubstantiated comments. Even our beloved President, once again, has jumped on the Buffo bullshit bandwagon. Dear Mr. President, if you don't listen to your media advisors, maybe it's about time you did. And if you DO listen to them, maybe it's about time you sacked them. Or get them, and you, to read this link.



A cane toad (without the hat). Have you seen one of these Mr. President?

....

ps - if it is proved that there are indeed cand toads here I will donate USD 100.00 to any

local Timorese NGO.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi FOS,
I read that article yesterday too and I am glad to see you raise the issue.
Apparently the aussies introduced them, firstly "to rid the island of poisonous snakes" and then "to protect them from mosquitos"..
Indeed!
They must be short of news over there!
TZ

Anonymous said...

Dear FOS,
I don't know much about the herpetofauna of Timor (who does?) but I think there should be at least one native Bufo. I hope it doesn't cop it on the altar of toady ignorance.
NM

Anonymous said...

I've heard the only true way to tell one toad from another is to lick it. Yes, I know you have to kiss frogs to tell them apart ( and many an Aussie Sheila has commented on how many they've had to kiss) but when it comes to toad you lick them. Yes, I know it's a rather odd method; and it's not widely advertised. But trust me on this - you lick toads. The experts from Haburas Foundation should volunteer to do the identification and can then report back as to what they've seen...
Just trying to help,
FireGuy

Anonymous said...

FireGuy is correct....the oz canetoad's poison sends one off his/her face but it is dangerous to experiment with the stuff because you could easily end dead.
-Knackers

Anonymous said...

Of course the Cane Toads are in East Timor! And in 2006, at the time of the crisis, some more were sent there!
C'mon, NGO's, line up!

Anonymous said...

Cane toads lay up to 20 000 eggs at a time and the tadpoles are poisonous to. If their there, there's no stopping them now.

Rumpig

Wrick said...

You really are an 'old sod' aren't you? So a picture was presented of a cane toad that might not be a cane toad (I doubt that a cane toad could grow to that size between now and 1966). Nice little disinformation exercise. But how will the Australian military deal with this ?:


Cane toads in ADF Timor base 'common knowledge'

John Kidman

September 16, 2008 - 2:51PM

Senior military personnel knew Australian troops were responsible for introducing cane toads to East Timor two years ago, it has been alleged.

The presence of the toxic amphibians inside the Australian Defence Force Camp Phoenix compound in Dili in mid-2006 was common knowledge, Defence Force sources have told The Sun-Herald.

At the time, they were exclusive to the base and could have been eradicated but nothing was done.
.....
Defence Department officials are playing down claims ...[etc. etc.] ... arguing that it was impossible to tell how, when and exactly where they arrived.

However, soldiers formerly stationed at Phoenix say they have no doubt, and that quarantine measures which could have checked the infestation were non-existent.
...

"Everyone to the rank of brigadier was required to do night picket duty; there was no way you could miss them," one soldier, who asked not to be named, said.

"You'd be out there for two hours at the front gate or on roving patrol and, basically, they were the only things moving. One of the majors stationed there was known to amuse himself by running around jumping on them."

Another infantry source said: "There were no toads at the time over the road in Crocodile Alley, there were none dead on the roads outside the base and none at the [Air Point of Departure] camp. They were only inside Phoenix."

fat old sod said...

Yeah right. If you find a brigadier pulling night picket duty I'll eat a bloody cane toad, raw!.
And the next time I need to storm an enemy machine-gun post I'll call an amphibion expert shall I?
The diggers are great and all the rest of it, but would YOU trust an unqualified soldier to identify an animal, in the dark (remember, there was no power in mid 2006)whilst looking out for bad guys? Well would yer? eh? eh?

Wrick said...

Cane toads are pretty unmistakeable - as the guy said, it's the only
creature that makes the ground look as if it's crawling under your
feet at night. We had an infestation here at Nimbin and I'd walk
throught them on the way to doing a late night show at the community
radio. Okay, I didn't have a camera with a flash and a zoom lense a
forensic expert and a qualified herpetologist, but I knew that it
wasn't bunny rabbits hopping around out there. So I can identify with
the soldier's experience. Add that to my own experience of the
military in denial mode, and you get a pretty good picture.
Actually I would only hold you to eating the legs, lightly sauteed in
a chile sauce. I'd let you off eating the entire creature.
Cheers
WF

Anonymous said...

It seems to me that the "Load of Arse" lays solely with the Fat Old Bastard!

Anonymous said...

Why so much anger, my young padawan?

Anonymous said...

I loved the picture of the Cane Toad.

Had no idea they get that big.

WOW

Roberto
visa.esp@consularcorps.cc