Mining giant joins fight to stop killer toad march across Australia
Summary
Rio Tinto and Curtin University will help fund a five-year project to keep poisonous cane toads from reaching Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The A$28 million plan will restrict the toads’ access to water across a 7,500-square-kilometre area, aiming to protect native wildlife including the northern quoll, goanna and ghost bat.Key Facts
- Rio Tinto, Curtin University and other partners will spend A$28 million on the project.
- The project is scheduled to begin in 2027 and run for five years.
- The proposed containment zone covers 7,500 square kilometres between the Great Sandy Desert and the Indian Ocean.
- The plan aims to prevent cane toads from reaching dams, storage tanks and other ground-level water sources.
- Cane toads produce toxins that can kill native wildlife.
- The Australian government says cane toads have moved west across northern Australia at about 40 to 60 kilometres per year.
- Cane toads were introduced to Australia in 1935 to control beetles in the sugar cane industry.
- Curtin University professor Ben Phillips said the toads could reach the Pilbara within two decades without intervention.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
