 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 <unk> 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 the 1950s , and by the end of the 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 fertiliser from their bodies . 
