The New South Wales (NSW) government has secured 5,000 litres of bromadiolone, one of the world’s strongest pesticides against rodents, as part of a $50 million (US$38.8 million) “mouse trap” package to help farmers combat the ongoing mouse plague.
The chemical, which has been banned from outdoor usage since 2017, is currently awaiting approval from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) before it is distributed to farmers.
“This is an unprecedented plague with no blueprint on how to handle it, but we’re giving our farmers the tools they need to combat these vile vermin. As circumstances evolve we will continue to adapt our best approach to support the agricultural industry,” Marshall said.
NSW Farmers welcomed the assistance saying the ongoing fight with the plague has had an “immense toll” on residents’ health and well-being.
Once-in-a-Decade Plague
Western NSW and Queensland farmers have, for months, been combatting the worst mouse plague in nearly a decade.NSW Farmers Vice President Xavier Martin said that recently the situation had gotten to the point where mice were resorting to cannibalism due to the sheer number of rodents in his fields.
Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, said this sort of mouse plague event occurs every 10 years. Recent seasonal conditions in the state have created the ideal situation for mice to thrive.
CSIRO mouse expert Steve Henry said the mild and moist summer, particularly in northern NSW, helped the mice breed throughout the summer into autumn. It then tails off through winter.
CSIRO recommended the use of zinc phosphide-coated wheat bait to control the mouse population. APVMA has recently granted emergency use of double-strength zinc phosphide to combat the invasion.
Gerard Dallow from a pest control company, Micropest, told Nine that the numbers were likely to take a hit during the upcoming winter, then once summer returned, they would turn from predators to prey.
Animal Activist Response
However, animal rights activists People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has said the mice should not be robbed of the right to food “because of the dangerous notion of human supremacy.”PETA spokesman Aleesha Naxakis urged Australians not to use poison on the animals and suggested that people instead use “humane” traps to catch and release the rodents.
Agriculture Minister Marshall also condemned the group, calling the PETA comments “utter lunacy.”
However, Naxakis has defended the comments, saying it was “unfair” that the mice would “suffer horrible deaths” and blamed the governments for not dealing with the issue earlier.