Cane toads are a higly invasive species and are regarded as a major envionmental pest in Australia. While there is fairly universal agreement over the need to control cane toads, there is significant debate over what is the most humane method to use. This is largely due to a lack of research into the impact of killing methods on toads, exacerbated by the fact that it is difficult to measure pain and distress in amphibians through observation alone. Despite this, thousands of cane toads are killed every year in Australia by government and community groups and individuals, using many different (and sometimes very disturbing) methods.

The RSPCA believes that any efforts to control cane toads should be carried out as part of a government or community organised program which includes clear guidelines on how toads should be handled and killed. Cane toads should be killed using a two-stage method that ensures the animals are rendered unconscious (stunned) prior to killing.

We cautiously recommend cooling as a method of stunning as it can be reliably applied by people with no previous experience or training. Toads should first be collected in bags or containers that have holes or vents to allow air flow. The toads should be cooled to 4 degrees Celsius to render them unconscious. Care must be taken to ensure that the toads do not come into direct contact with a frozen surface by wrapping the bags or containers in a towel before placing in the fridge.

The toads should then be killed using a physical method that ensures they are dead in accordance with the recomendations of  the NSW DPI document Humane pest animal control: methods of euthanasia.  This recommends the following actions after pre-cooling :

• Blunt cranial concussion and decapitation followed by double pithing
• Striking the toad’s head against a hard object so as to cause rapid, complete destruction of the brain
• Placing the animals in a secure plastic container with air holes in a deep freezer for at least 2 days

Benzocaine
Benzocaine is a local anesthetic and is available as an ointment for human use (as a pain killer for toothache or haemorrhoids). It can also be used to render toads unconscious but should be followed up by cooling and killing as outlined above. The ointment is applied to the toad in a strip 2-3cm wide down the midline of the neck and back of the toad. The toad should become unconscious with about 30 minutes.