The toad containment zone: keeping cane toads out of the Pilbara.

A once in a lifetime opportunity has emerged for us to stop the spread of cane toads. More than a decade of scientific work indicates that, by managing artificial waterpoints in the coastal strip between Broome and Port Hedland, we can halt the toad invasion. Establishing this Toad Containment Zone (TCZ) will keep toads out of the Pilbara and potential habitat as far south as Shark Bay. This action benefits the environment, but also communities in the Pilbara and further south; across 27 million hectares of Western Australia.

Cane toads have spread to occupy more than 1.6 million square kilometres of Australia. They have a massive impact on native predator species, who are fatally poisoned when toads arrive in an area. Toads have recently colonised the Kimberley and they continue to spread. They will arrive in the project area in 2027, so there is urgency to this project .

There is a once in a lifetime opportunity to stop the toad invasion just south of Broome, by controlling access to artificial waterpoints.

Progress

This project builds off more than a decade of research and community engagement. The impending arrival of toads mean that now is the time to build the toad containment zone. This is a large, complex project. While much of the research and advocacy work is complete, it is time to execute the last pieces of implementation research, and to ramp up our community engagement. New funding from WA State government will enable this urgent groundwork. At the same time, we are looking to secure funding for the full project and build a coalition of on-ground land managers to deliver the work. Watch this space! For more information on the TCZ see here.