Australia has planned a biological war to eradicate the living “mouse plague”

Australia is home to some of the most feared creatures in the world. But no one is more destructive than the humble mouse of the house, for the plague has swept across the vast agricultural lands and frightened the terrifying farmers.

Farmers in New South Wales, the state most affected, have warned that furry animals could cost them a trillion dollars ($ 765 million) in crops lost this season and poison in milk. Residents of rural villages have been fighting for six months against the army of wild mice, the appliance cable, the polluted water supply and even more bite patients in hospital beds.

Scientists say the plague intensified due to good weather after years drought and the second largest grain harvest in the nation on record.

State authorities have proposed “napalming” mice by allowing farmers to use bromadiolone poison against mice, which has sparked a heated debate about the environmental impact.

The $ 50 million mouse control package unveiled this week includes plans to develop “gene drive” technology to sterilize mice, a wild species that arrived in Australia’s first fleet.

“Mice are everywhere. Our dishwasher cables were bitten a few weeks ago and caused flooding, ”said Xavier Martin, a resident of Gunnedah, a town in the north-east of New South Wales. “.

He said the plague was threatening winter crops as well as the mental health of farmers as droughts, fires, floods and Covid-19s have absorbed the devastating effects in recent years.

Martin, who is vice president of the NSW farmers ’lobby group, said he has spoken out against the use of bromadiolone because it can kill wildlife that eats dead mice through secondary poisoning.

However, the NSW government has asked the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority for “urgent approval” for farmers to use bromadiolone, a poison that kills by preventing blood clotting.

“It will be the equivalent of napalming mice all over rural NSW,” said NSW agriculture minister Adam Marshall.

Dramatic footage showing mice in warehouses, fields and mice crossing houses has increased the political commitment of the state government. The mouse plague not only has costly financial consequences, it also threatens public health.

“No one ever forgets to live with the mouse plague,” said Steve Henry Csiro, an expert on mice from the scientific research agency. “They fit into your home, in every closet, in your bed and in your pantry, literally everywhere you go.”

Mouse urine can spread serious diseases among humans, including leptospirosis and lymphocytic choriomeningitis, adding that it can cause symptoms similar to meningitis.

The concern for cereal farmers living in Dubbo, New South Wales around Terry and Nicole Klante is the risk of their children and workers becoming ill.

“Everything in our workshops has literally been touched by mice, so we have to keep repeating the washing of the hands of the staff because the potential for illness is in everything we touch,” Nicol said.

Thousands of mice are caught and killed every day while others continue to come, he said.

Mice reproduce rapidly. A single pair of mice can produce 500 cubs during the summer, which usually lasts from summer to fall, Henry said.

It is difficult to predict how long the mouse plague will last, as it can end abruptly due to disease, food shortages and cannibalism.

“When food runs out the mice start to turn on the sick and weak, they catch the kids and the population falls off very quickly,” Henry said.