USA TODAY
Millions of mice are spreading across eastern Australia and terrorizing local farmers, homes and businesses. Some mice have been spotted chewing through crops while others have bitten hospital patients.
Farmers are struggling under the arrival of the mice, with many stating they ve spent thousands on bait to catch and kill the rodents that are damaging crops and stored grain, The Independent reported. For businesses, owners are experiencing damage to stock and electrical wires that have been chewed through by the tiny animals.
Australia’s rodent plague led the government to grant an emergency permit to allow double-strength bait to be used to kill the mice, according to The Independent. Just this month, the government also introduced a $50 million mouse plague package which includes free bait for farmers.
Although nearly a third of people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, workers for small businesses are still taking virus-related leave in increasing numbers, according to a survey released Monday by the National Federation of Independent Business.
The scale of the mouse plague gripping regional Australian towns has been laid bare by footage of a rodent clinging to the fur of a sunbathing cat.
The mouse was pictured perching on the cat s forehead as he laid down on a ledge in Coonabarabran in New South Wales central west on April 25. Quick look up - he s on your head. Get the mouse, a voice can be heard urging the cat from behind the camera.
Farmers in northern parts of the state and southern Queensland have battled plagues of mice in recent months, complaining that they are ravaging crops and spread potentially fatal bacterial diseases.
Australians overwhelmed by a mouse plague sweeping across rural towns have been forced to spread peanut butter onto bin lids in a desperate attempt to trap and kill the masses of rodents.
Farmers based in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland have endured plagues of rodents in recent months, which have destroyed large volumes of stock.
A fed up woman in Tamworth, in northern NSW, explained she d bought a bin with a swinging lid to use as a cheap alternative to a mouse trap after struggling to find one in stores.
She said when the mice crawled onto the lid to taste the peanut butter they would fall down inside the bin, which she would then fill with water to drown them.
Australia's mice plague: Farmer shares grim clip showing thousands of rodents in a pile of hay dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.