Why are conservationists making this plea?
Orally ingesting toad secretions has been referred to in popular culture and in scientific literature as toad licking in the past, drawing much media attention.
But while the licking has become more of an urban myth nowadays, researchers are concerned that the process of overmilking could result in a danger to the species’ survival.
Robert Anthony Villa is a Research Associate at the University of Arizona Desert Laboratory and president of Tucson Herpetological Society. He warns that the toads are
In 2017, his appearance in an episode of psychedelics-based show, Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia, on Vice, saw him discussing what has become “an international toad venom smoking phenomenon”.