Page "Cane toad" Paragraph 44

Other modern applications of the cane toad include pregnancy testing, as pets, laboratory research, and the production of leather goods.

Pregnancy testing was conducted in the mid-20th century by injecting urine from a woman into a male toad's lymph sacs, and if spermatozoa appeared in the toad's urine, the patient was deemed to be pregnant.

The tests using toads were faster than those employing mammals ; the toads were easier to raise, and, although the initial 1948 discovery employed Bufo arenarum for the tests, it soon became clear that a variety of anuran species were suitable, including the cane toad.

As a result, toads were employed in this task for around 20 years.

As a laboratory animal, the cane toad is regarded as ideal ; they are plentiful, and easy and inexpensive to maintain and handle.

The use of the cane toad in experiments started in 1950s, and by the end of 1960s, large numbers were being collected and exported to high schools and universities.

Since then, a number of Australian states have introduced or tightened importation regulations.

Even dead toads have value.

Cane toad skin has been made into leather and novelty items ; stuffed cane toads, posed and accessorised, have found a home in the tourist market, and attempts have been made to produce fertilizer from their bodies.