Frog-hunting tree rats

The Minister of Conservation, Hon Steve Chadwick, and her staff issued an April Fools press release detailing a scheme to deploy trained rats to track rare native tree frogs.  They assumed no-one would fall for it, but it was picked up and reported by a wire service until a retraction was issued.

The threatened frog species made chirping sounds, had round eyes and did not have webbed feet, the minister stated.  "It was just a bit of lighthearted fun," a spokeswoman for Mrs Chadwick said.

- Rotorua Daily Post, 2 April 2008