On a tropical island off the Queensland coast, locals love to hate one of Australia’s most infamous pests.
For more than 50 years, revellers have flocked to Magnetic Island for its cane toad races — placing their bets on which toad will hop the fastest out of the arena.
Toad handler Paul Gilligan said the competition, which raises money for a local surf lifesaving club, regularly sees crowds of more than 100 cheering on a winner.
“It’s just something so unique that you don’t see anywhere else,” he said.
Paul Gilligan gets the toads ready for their weekly race. (ABC North Qld: Meghan Dansie)
Sitting just 8 kilometres from Townsville, the island has a plentiful local talent pool to choose from — toads can be found in its parks, waterways and national park areas, as they can across much of northern Australia.
But one group of dedicated locals — the Maggie Toad Busters — are taking a different approach to dealing with the local toad population.
The group estimates they have gathered about 80 kilograms of tadpoles from waterways. (ABC North Qld: Meghan Dansie)
Project co-leader Peter Illidge said the group was on an eradication mission, aiming to put a severe dent in the island’s toad population over the next three years, with a $16,394 grant from the Queensland government’s Gambling Community Benefit Fund.
“We’ve got a bunch of toad busters out there. The community has been doing this for a long time but we’re bringing everybody together,” he said.
Bruce Holden and Peter Illidge have taken up ‘toad busting’ around the island. (ABC North Qld: Meghan Dansie)
March of the toads
Cane toads were first introduced to North Queensland in the 1930s to control sugar cane beetles, but the species quickly became a widespread pest and is now found across Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
This toad, named ‘Toadzilla’ was found  in North Queensland in 2023. (Supplied: Queensland Museum)
Professor Ross Alford from James Cook University said the region’s islands were no exception to their march across northern Australia, commonly hitchhiking to places like Magnetic Island in vehicles and cargo.
“There’s so much vehicle traffic by ferries that it would be really surprising if they hadn’t accidentally been carried over there by people,” he said.
Cane toads breed rapidly. (ABC North Qld: Meghan Dansie)
Euthanasia of cane toads is permitted in Australia, with several humane methods outlined by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Magnetic Island toad buster, Bruce Hobby said the group had laid 30 traps in local creeks, collecting and euthanasing about 80 kilograms of tadpoles over the past few months, as well as about 480 adult toads.
Magnetic Island is known as a habitat for koalas and turtles. (Supplied: Lawrence Scheele)
“Australia’s wildlife is so unique and special, and to see it affected by what is essentially an invader of our country is sad,” he said.
“There is a lot of them, they eat a lot, and they out-compete most other animals.”
The toad busters are hoping to work with Townsville City Council to install bins at the island’s parks, so members of the public can leave toads for the ‘busters’ to collect and destroy, to better protect the island’s native species.
The group uses government funding to purchase plastic traps for tadpoles. (ABC North Qld: Meghan Dansie)
Local action worthwhile
Busting toads is no small task, with the country infested by more than 200 million of the amphibians.
Environmental group Watergum’s annual national toad busting event this year saw more than 2,000 people pitch in to remove 199,231 cane toads in 84 locations across Australia.
Cars and goods are transported to Magnetic Island via ferry. (ABC North Qld: Meghan Dansie)
Professor Alford said although eradication was unlikely, localised community efforts to drive down numbers could be effective.
“On a more local scale, particularly on things like islands, you can trap them, collect them and reduce numbers that way,” he said.
“By reducing their numbers you can reduce their impact on all the other animals they affect.”
Magnetic Island toad busters have laid 30 traps in local creeks. (ABC North Qld: Meghan Dansie)
On Magnetic Island, Mr Illidge said the toad busters would continue their efforts over the next three years in the hope of ridding the island of the invasive species.
“We may not eradicate all the toads, but we’ll definitely reduce their numbers to a point where they’re not making such a big impact,” he said.
“It would be nice to see no toads on the island — that’s a dream.”