Cane toads have spread across northern Australia since their 1935 introduction, with management campaigns raising questions about humane methods for controlling an invasive species.
Cane toad management welfare presents a challenge because toads — like all amphibians — have nervous systems capable of pain experience. Killing methods matter: blunt trauma is unreliable and slow, carbon dioxide causes respiratory distress, freezing causes prolonged hypothermia if done quickly, and benzocaine anaesthesia followed by freezing is considered the most humane method available. The scale of cane toad control needed makes humane killing practically difficult. The welfare case for any individual cane toad competes with the welfare impact of the many native animals they kill. This is a genuine welfare dilemma without easy resolution — but choosing the most humane methods available is an achievable minimum standard.