A PROPOSAL to export cane toads to China would do little to cut the destructive pest's population, an expert says.
Professor Ross Alford of James Cook University said Australia's cane toad population was estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.
Trapping large numbers would be time consuming and costly, he said.
"Can you imagine how many traps you would need and how many people you would need working on it? We would probably have to put the entire population of Australia to work on it for a year," he said.
However, Prof Alford supported the proposal by Charleville meat processor John Burey to establish an export industry to China, where the species is prized for its medicinal values and, in some parts, as a food source.
"I think all up it probably wouldn't have an impact on the problem but if we can turn it into an export industry that would be one slight plus we're getting from cane toads," he says.
"If we can satisfy that demand in China I can't see a problem."
Prof Alford is researching ways to improve the efficiency of traps, using recordings of toad noises and lights to lure the creatures in.
The traps, which bear a resemblance to crab pots, humanely capture the creatures so they can be euthanased later.
He said the traps, which could hold up to 20 toads, could be used for commercial purposes but staff would be needed to regularly check them.
