The apocalyptic images of Australia’s worst mouse infestation in decades

Some rural communities in the Australian state of New South Wales suffer from their worst mouse plague in decades after a bountiful grain harvest, residents said.

A witness video obtained by Reuters showed thousands of small rodents swarming around a farm in the town of Gilgandra.

“At night … the ground moves with thousands and thousands of mice running around,” farmer Ron Mckay told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Supermarkets are keep food in sealed containers and at least three local hospital patients were bitten by micesaid the station.

“You can imagine that every time you open a cupboard, every time you go to your pantry, there are mice present,” said Steve Henry, a rodent expert.

“And they eat out of your containers, they spoil your clean bedding in your closet, they run around your bed at night. “.

Farmers who used to make hay bales for the winter hope to lose a lot to the quickly reproducing rodents. Local media reported that a single pair of mice can produce an average of up to 500 puppies in a season.

So far, intensive bait programs have had little success against the infestation, and locals hope the heavy rains drown the mice in their burrows.

Scandal at the Australian Open: a character denounces an invasion of mice in the hotel where he is in quarantine

In January, the Australian Open which became news around the world following the various scandals that arose around the players who came to start the training sessions planned for this tournament. However, the biggest conflict is linked to the mandatory isolation of several athletes who have traveled on planes where cases of coronavirus have been recorded. To this was added a new scandal: a tennis player reported that there was a mouse invasion in the hotel where they are concentrated and shared several videos.

The 28th Yulia Putintseva in the world raised alarms when she posted on her account Twitter a movie where a rodent was seen in his room with a complaint: “I’ve been trying to change rooms for 2 hours!” And no one came to help because of the quarantine situation ”.

Although she was able to get them to change places, the situation did not improve and she shared another video where a mouse was seen in the hotel: “A different room, the same story! I wanted to fall asleep, but no “. A few minutes later, he visualized another animal in his room: “There are actually a lot! There isn’t even one in my room now. “

The issue took on national significance and Australia’s response was quick to arrive with cross-accusations. The Minister of Emergency Services Lisa Neville from Victoria assured that some players fed the rodents without mentioning Putintseva but with a clear reference to her.

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