Poison baits used to eradicate a mouse plague that affects parts of southeast Australia could harm other native species, including galahs, pigeons and fish, it has been alleged.
Thousands of farmers in parts of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria have faced rodent infestations that have devastated crops, gnawed farm equipment and appliances, caused power outages and raided supermarkets.
The infestation was driven by wet weather, which provided the mice with ample food and boosted their rapid reproductive cycle.
Poisoned pellets, along with other traps and buckets of water, were used to trap and kill the mice. However, conservationists and animal rights activists warn of the possibility that other species may be affected.
Photos shared on Reddit showed a herd of Galahs lying dead on the floor in what the contributor said was the result of accidental poisoning.
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In the post titled “This is the reality of using bait grain to kill mice. Lure the mice, not our native animals, ”wrote Reddit user“ Chessikins ”that they had been taking care of“ poisoned Galahs ”for some time.
They wrote, “Sorry if pictures are confronted, but this is the reality of the mouse plague … This is just a devastating situation.”
In separate posts on the Australian Wildlife Facebook group, it was alleged that pigeons die from the poisoned mouse bait and that if the chemicals get into the local food chain water supply, other species may be at risk, including fish and even pets.
“In the past week I counted four dead Galahs and about 10 pigeons,” wrote one. “Their bodies have no obvious injuries. I wonder if the dead birds ate the mouse bait that is dropped in this area? ”
A young gala in search of food [file photo]
(Getty Images / iStockphoto)
Farmer Stu Crawford of Narromine, NSW told the Australian ABC network, “Fish eat mice and there is a possibility that this poison could get into the food chain. It has a huge impact and is not worth the risk. “
Mr Crawford said he recently eviscerated a Murray cod that had five mice in its intestines.
He added, “We have seen many mice that are either vomited by fish when they are caught, put on board, or released – that is, cod vomiting or dead mice vomiting.”
It stems from concerns that the use of a banned poison called “napalm”, if authorized, could have further harmful effects on local wildlife.
(AP)
The NSW state government has ordered 5,000 liters of bromadiolone from India. The federal government’s regulatory authority has yet to approve emergency applications for the poison to be used on the edges of crops.
State Secretary of Agriculture Adam Marshall said, “We are now at a critical point where if we do not significantly reduce the number of mice that are in plague proportions by spring, we will be ahead of one in rural areas absolute economic and social crisis face and regional New South Wales.
“We have to go this route because we need something super powerful, the equivalent of napalm, to just blast these mice into oblivion.”
Critics fear the poison not only kills mice, but also animals that feed on them, including wedge-tailed eagles and domestic animals.
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