Ben Fogle's country travels: battling the cane toad When the scorching Australian sun sets, the Outback comes alive. However, there is one species that threatens the balance of this extraordinary wilderness: the cane toad. Last week I headed out with the Kimberley Toad Busters to do my part for conservation. The cane toad was introduced to Australia from South America as a way of controlling the native grey-backed cane beetle that threatened the production of sugar cane. The cane toad was perfectly suited to the environment and without a natural predator soon multiplied out of control, migrating across the country. Efforts to control them have been unsuccessful, with many regions resorting to physically trapping them, and last week, under the cover of darkness, I ventured out. The toads have a highly toxic venom that they secrete from their skin which has killed huge numbers of native species. Although some creatures have started to adapt by avoiding the toads altogether, it has been estimated that 75 species of crocodile and turtle are at risk from them. My hands protected against their venom with surgical gloves, I searched a small spring. It didn't take long before I spotted their eyes reflecting the torch light: they were everywhere. Using the light to blind them, I swooped. They are surprisingly large - some required two hands. They are also unnervingly placid. Without natural predators they have little fear, meaning that catching them is surprisingly simple and efficient. Within 30 minutes we had nearly 100 toads. Dispatching of them is the unpleasant part. Where once disinfectant was poured over them to kill them, the RSPCA have issued humane guidelines, and we were using the oldest method: severing the neck with an axe. It sounds brutal and it is. Poison splattered onto my lips and arms, numbing the skin. There is little that can be done with the toxic bodies so we buried them. We made but a small dent on their relentless march. Some people have even suggested introducing another non-native, invasive species from South America to control the toad's spread, thereby further threatening the country's ecological security. Until the Australian government can come up with a solution, it will be up to the likes of the Kimberley Toad Busters to control the toad's toxic spread.