The end of a three-year drought and the wildfires that followed allowed Australia to breathe a sigh of relief. In turn, this created the perfect conditions for the worst rat plague in the last decade.
“People are really tying the laces around the pants when they’re walking among rats because they don’t want them to get on their feet,” explains rat expert Steve Henry Vice. works for henry Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganizationNational body for scientific research in Australia.
It is now feared that millions of rats will continue to grow in the winter and destroy crops. The problems have already begun to show themselves, because Production loss to damaged machinery. Even things that are not eaten by rats are contaminated with feces and urine.
The desperation of the farmers motivates them to take action to stop this pest. there are people who have spent over 100 thousand dollars bait to catch them.
Henry leads the country’s efforts to combat the plague of rats and ensures that zinc phosphorus It is the only humane and effective alternative: “It is an unpleasant chemical and its use is banned in other countries, but the potential for secondary toxicity is very low”.
In May, the Government of New South Wales announced $50 million support package To help farmers fight the pest.
Agricultural consequences aren’t the only problem created by the millions of rats that terrorize Australians. There are also threats to public health..
In Queensland, there were at least 78 reports leptospirosis, A bacterial infection that, without treatment, can lead to kidney failure, meningitis, and respiratory complications. Fortunately, Australia has managed to control the COVID-19 pandemic, otherwise the effects could be disastrous.
Although there has been a history of rat plague in Australia, as of 1993, causing more than $90 million in damage, the current plague is considered Worst in the last decade.
