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Last fall, the U.S. National Park Service sent out a message on Facebook asking visitors to “refrain from licking” the toad (technically Incilius alvarius but commonly called Bufo alvarius). That message came months after a New York Times article covered the booming interest in the psychedelic compound that the toad excretes from its skin — along with the “poaching, over-harvesting and illegal trafficking” that have accompanied that interest. They “work orally, through the mucous membranes, and cause really dangerous side effects, like cardiac arrest,”

Thousands of adorable but poisonous Bufo toads, which can kill pets and are dangerous to children, have invaded a suburban Florida neighborhood. Cane toads, as they are known, range from 6 to 9 inches in length. Their babies are dime-sized, though, and those are the creatures hopping around in droves. “I just see a massive amount of toads or frogs everywhere, covering every square inch,” said Jennifer Quasha, who lives in an affected area of Palm Beach Gardens, to WPTV. “You can’t even walk through the grass without stepping on one.”

An Indiana man who was licking a toad while dancing by himself on an Indiana sidewalk is locked up after ignoring a trespass warning issued by cops, according to a police report.

Barbara Fair will be outside Toad’s Place Tuesday night picketing Ted Nugent’s appearance at the music venue, and she says she really wants is to talk to the controversial figure. Fair and others will be protesting statements Nugent made about immigrants, blacks, gays and Trayvon Martin. Some 70 people committed to joining the picket line and thousands signing a petition asking that Toad’s cancel the “Motor City Madman’s” concert. “I would want to have a conversation with him to get him to think about some of the things he says. . . . The New Haven Register this week stood...

Community activists hoping to convince Toad’s Place president and owner Brian Phelps to cancel the Ted Nugent concert scheduled for Tuesday stopped by the York Street rock club Wednesday night with petitions signed by 2,500 like-minded people. They can keep hoping — but on Wednesday, all they encountered was a locked door. .. Fair also said that if there is no dialogue and the show is not cancelled, peaceful protesters will turn out the evening of the show. “We’re making every effort at dialogue first,” said Williams. “I want to sit down and actually have a decent conversation with...

The New York Post reports that Eric Boswell, the assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security, has not resigned from the department, as a State Department spokeswoman indicated Dec. 19. Boswell is instead just "switching desks," according to the report. Three other State Department officials, including Charlene Lamb, the deputy assistant secretary responsible for embassy security, were placed on administrative leave after the release of the report. However, according to the Post they are expected to return

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- Maybe he was testing a new recipe. Chef Christopher Turla earned his Davenport, Iowa restaurant a $335 ticket Wednesday after health inspectors saw a video of him kissing and licking toads in the kitchen.

A report in the Royal Society's Biology Letters journal describes how a female cane toad inflates its body to prevent an amorous male from mating with it. This makes it difficult for the male toad to "hold on".

SYDNEY – When the enemy reached Australia's largest state last year, the Kimberley Toad Busters knew the battle was on. But they didn't expect that officialdom might strip them of their most effective weapon. The enemy? The cane toad. The weapon? Plastic bags full of carbon dioxide — long considered the animal-friendly alternative to whacking the creatures with golf clubs or cricket bats. But Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation isn't so sure that euthanizing Bufo marinus with carbon dioxide is the kindest way to go, and says further tests are needed...

The habitat of cane toads is spreading across Australia and the poisonous amphibians are decimating populations of freshwater crocodiles, according to a leading biologist. Dr Mike Letnic, of Sydney University, says scores of crocodiles in the tropical, northern region have died after eating toads. His team visited the Victoria River district of the Northern Territory. "[In 2006] we counted more than 600 crocodiles and in 2007 we counted less than 400," he said. "There were dead crocs everywhere. The only thing that had changed between visits was that cane toads had moved through the river system."

The RSPCA has criticised the Townsville City Council for a producing a stubby holder promoting "cane toad golf" as a highlight of living in north Queensland. The beer holder is part of a $270,000 council promotional campaign, which is designed to build community pride. RSPCA spokesman Michael Beattie says it is irresponsible. "The RSPCA acknowledges the fact that the cane toad needs to be eliminated ideally but simply whacking a few with golf clubs doesn't work," he said. "Nine times out of ten the cane toad will simply get up and hop away." The Mayor of Townsville Tony Mooney says...

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A huge cane toad the size of a small dog has been captured in the Australian tropical city of Darwin, startling environmentalists who are fighting to stop the poisonous reptiles from spread across the country. "It's a monster toad," said Paul Cowdy from FrogWatch which captured the cane toad on Monday night. "We've never seen a cane toad this big," he said on Tuesday. "It's a male and normally females are bigger." The cane toad, regarded as a major pest in Australia, was one of 39 caught by a group from FrogWatch near Lee Point in Darwin....

52 REASONS NOT TO MOW 37 WAYS TO HELP TREES Please download with 100% cotton, rice, recycled, or scrap paper Ron Howard, director of A Beautiful Mind and many other films,made his first film at age 8.. an anti mowing film which showed the nature of mowers' attacks on lawns. Art Buchwald: People shouldn't be judged by the length of their grass. In 2003 through now, the world has seen floods, famine, fire, mudslides, hurricanes, tornados and other disasters created by the unprecedented destruction of trees around the world. Trees are nature's weather stabilizers. We need trillions of trees.. new...

Australians promote humanitarian acts by trading beers for live toads Mar 20, 2006 - Animal activists in Australia have set up a toad-for-beer exchange in order to promote humanitarian disposal of toads. RSPCA Australia, Coopers Brewery in the Cavenagh Hotel in Darwin teamed with three Darwin organizations after a local film aired depicting toad hunters in a simulated orgy of killing. Here's how it works: Anyone over the age of 18 who captures a toad and delivers it alive to the Darwin RSPCA qualifies for a glass of Coopers beer at the Cavenagh Hotel. Sean Gould of Coopers said the...

Residents in Australia's Northern Territory are staging a day of action to stop marauding cane toads. They are being encouraged to hunt and destroy these toxic pests, which have spread in plague-like numbers across tropical Australia. The cane toads were introduced from South America 70 years ago in a failed attempt to eradicate cane beetles. They are big, ugly creatures and their advance has taken them to the outskirts of Darwin. Residents are being urged to defend the front-line on "Not In My Backyard Day", which is sponsored by the Northern Territory government. 'Flog them' Federal MP Dave Tollner says...

OSLO (Reuters) - Exotic frogs and toads are dying out in the jungles of Latin America, apparent victims of global warming in what might be a harbinger of one of the worst waves of extinction since the dinosaurs. Accelerating extinctions would derail a United Nations goal of "a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss" by 2010. That target will be reviewed at a U.N. meeting of environment ministers in Curitiba, Brazil, on March 20-31. "We are facing an extinction crisis," said Anne Larigauderie, head of Paris-based Diversitas which promotes research into life on the planet. She estimated...

Renewable Energy Problems ? Berlin: A German inventor, who says he has developed a way to make crude fuel oil from paper, rubbish, and plastics has found himself under attack. A local newspaper reporter somehow concluded he was making oil from dead cats ,and the published story set off a geyser of protest. “No, nay, never !” , responds the inventor. “It’s all paper , plastics, and rubbish.” “At worst “, he concedes , “the odd toad may have jumped into the batch.” Sidney: An Australian man, who was wearing a woolen shirt and a nylon/synthetic jacket , is reported...

Of Liberals, Toads, And Growing Up In Middle America By Rev. Louis P. Sheldon Chairman, Traditional Values Coalition August 23, 2005 Washington, DC – Liberal special interest groups and their sock puppets in the U.S. Senate are looking more and more foolish with each passing day as they scramble to find any piece of paper written by Judge John Roberts that will destroy his chances of confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. One of the first salvos launched against Judge Roberts was from Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) who railed against Roberts for a decision he penned against a court ruling...

Of Liberals, Toads, And Growing Up In Middle America http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2388

BERLIN (AP) -- More than 1,000 toads have puffed up and exploded in a Hamburg pond in recent weeks, and scientists still have no explanation for what's causing the combustion, an official said Wednesday. Both the pond's water and body parts of the toads have been tested, but scientists have been unable to find a bacteria or virus that would cause the toads to swell up and pop, said Janne Kloepper, of the Hamburg-based Institute for Hygiene and the Environment. "It's absolutely strange," she said. "We have a really unique story here in Hamburg. This phenomenon really doesn't seem to...