English (Advanced) - Advance English Lessons -Ten

Shirley discusses how customs officials also play a vital role in preventing the smuggling of species across borders.

Ray: I recall watching a television documentary in the United States a few years ago. At one point, they talked about certain toads in Australia that supposedly produce a substance with hallucinogenic effects on humans. Does that sound familiar to you?

Shirley: I’m not sure about those particular toads, but I do know that Australia faces a major issue with cane toads. These are quite large—about the size of a small cantaloupe. They were introduced around the early 20th century and eventually escaped into the wild in northern Australia. Now they’ve spread across thousands upon thousands of hectares. Every year, the government spends an enormous amount of money trying to control them because they’ve become a serious pest. That’s one of the main reasons our quarantine laws are so strict.

Ray: That makes sense. Of course, we’ve all heard about the rabbit problem.

Shirley: Yes, rabbits were first brought to Australia from Britain—probably as someone’s pet—and one must have escaped...

Ray: You weren’t on duty that day, I suppose.

Shirley: [laughs] No, probably not—I think that was about a hundred years ago.

Ray: Well, you did mention a “previous life.”

Shirley: That’s true. Anyway, once the rabbits got loose, their population exploded. At one point, there were literally millions of them, leading to massive control efforts. Eventually, one of the measures that proved effective was introducing a disease called myxomatosis. It doesn’t kill rabbits directly but causes blindness and weakness, making it impossible for them to survive. The disease is transmitted by a small flea, and although it’s a grim method, it did succeed in reducing their numbers dramatically.

Ray: Until, of course, they developed some resistance to it.

Shirley: Actually, that hasn’t happened much. Rabbits are still around, but not in the overwhelming, plague-like numbers they once reached.

Ray: So now it’s the toads that are the main concern.

Shirley: Yes, among other things. But yes—cane toads remain a continuing environmental challenge.