An indifferent rat plague prevailed over the lives of citizens in Eastern Australia. There are mice in the cabinets. Mice on the streets. Thousands and thousands of rats in the barns …
A farmer Interview by The Guardian Rodent mania has been described as “a complete plague” that locals have seen in decades. And remember, we are talking about Australia, the home of the platypus and the giant spiders.
According to local media, farmers lost the entire crop, hotels had to be closed and some establishments captured more than 600 animals in a single night.
This may just be the beginning of the ‘apocalypse plague’ of mice
According to Steve Henry, a researcher at CSIRO, the infection is likely the result of an unusually large grain crop, which attracted more hungry mice to field farms in the first season than normal.
“They start breeding in advance and as there is too much food and shelter in the system, they continue to breed from early spring to autumn,” Henry said.
Alan Brown, a farmer in the town of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, said that perhaps given the rapid rate of reproduction of mice, the pests were just beginning; A single breeding pair can produce a new litter every 20 days or longer, producing over 500 pups in a season According to Reuters.
How does this affect the local population?
In addition to destroying planting and grain stocks, harming trade and residents, mice pests can also be vectors of diseases, according to trade Report good 1998 Government of Queensland.
“Probably the most common pathogens are Salmonella bacteria, which can spread to a wide variety of animal species (including humans),” the report states. “Bacteria are usually transmitted to people through food contaminated with urine or infected feces and can cause acute gastrointestinal problems.”
