Overview
- Environmental group Watergum reports removing 38,322 cane toads in the filming area around Murwillumbah, New South Wales.
- The toads secrete toxins that can cause nausea, vomiting or hospitalisation in humans, with poisons lethal to birds, dogs and cats.
- The effort follows last year’s smaller “Toad Bust,” which removed 4,684, highlighting a sharp local surge.
- Cane toads were introduced in 1935 to control cane beetles and now number about 200 million nationwide, according to the reports.
- The rainforest site also hosts multiple venomous snake species and dangerous spiders, prompting strict wildlife briefings for contestants before the Nov. 16 start.