NSW Government backflip on claims they have no money to produce $50m
Deputy Premier and Agriculture Minister announced support package Thursday
They had previously said they had no money after funding drought relief
Government have legalised previously banned poison to deal with mice plagues
They will also offer free baits for all farmers attempting to deal with the situation
Farms have been overrun with rodents within the past few months across state
Some farmers said they re unable to sleep and have lost as much as $150,000
• Source: AAP
The end to a horror mouse plague that has tormented communities in western NSW is finally in sight thanks to doubly toxic bait, but farmers say they now can t afford to finish the rodents off.
Your playlist will load after this ad They’re begging the state government for help to get on top of the plague. Source: ABC Australia
Mice have been running rampant through large tracts of inland NSW and parts of southern Queensland, destroying crops and causing significant damage to tonnes of stored hay and grain.
Torrential rain and cooler temperatures were hoped to put a significant dampener on their numbers ahead of the sowing of the winter crop, however both have had little impact in only a few areas.
Farmers overrun by millions of mice have begged the government for help - only to be told there is no money left in the Budget.
Homes and farms across NSW have endured masses of rodents within the past few months leaving the majority of their stocks completely destroyed.
NSW Farmers and the Country Women s Association met at State Parliament on Tuesday to detail just how much their lives have been put on hold to cope with the endless stream of mice.
They asked for $25,000 per farm to help buy and set up mouse baits to kill the rodents and save their crops and homes.
CSIRO researcher Steve Henry says mice rapidly develop an aversion to the bait so it’s critical every grain is a lethal dose.
“One of my colleagues calls it the dodgy curry effect … if you go out, you have some food, you come home and feel sick, you’re not going back to that restaurant again for quite some time,” Henry said.
The higher dose bait will be on the market soon and costs farmers just a dollar more a kilogram.
But, the NSW Farmers association says the regular product is already in short supply, with demand causing prices to skyrocket.