A maximum-security prison in regional NSW, Australia had be emptied of inmates after it was lost to gangs of "MICE!" $100 million mouse plague caused up to $100 million worth of damage and sparked a mental health crisis in parts of Australia

Mouse plague Australia, credit Wikipedia

A maximum-security prison in regional NSW had be emptied of inmates after it fell victim to a "horrendous" mice plague. Rodents have been devouring crops and cutting a destructive swathe through properties in the state's west and south since spring 2020.

In June, they caused all 420 inmates at Wellington Correctional Centre in the state's west to be sent to other facilities after they damaged the building, a budget estimates hearing heard on Friday. Prison staff were working in buildings where cavities and ceilings were full of dead mice, Acting Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Kevin Corcoran told the hearing.

"I got gravely ill after attending there and I know others did too," Mr Corcoran told MPs. There were problems with mites and faeces falling down when he toured the site, he said."Some of the buildings I went into were just horrendous. I mean, the smell," he said.

"You're almost throwing up just going into the places people were living.  It's just completely unacceptable. "The mice, which first arrived at year ago, chewed through internal wiring and ceiling panels.

Mr Corcoran said the problems were most acute in the staff areas, and the situation "wasn't so bad" in the inmates' cells. Nevertheless, Corrective Services Minister Anthony Roberts said removing the inmates and most of the staff was the best solution so remediation works could be done urgently. Asked how he could lose a maximum-security prison to mice, Mr Roberts replied: "We build prisons to keep people in. "Macquarie Correctional Centre, just one kilometre away from the Wellington prison, had been largely unaffected by the plague, the hearing heard.

Despite a lull over the winter, Australia’s mouse plague never ended – and now it’s threatening new areas of the country. Large numbers of mice continue to plague rural Australian communities as farmers fear yet another crop will be ruined.

At the height of the infestation last autumn, it was reported the mouse plague was on track to cause up to $100 million worth of damage and worsen a mental health crisis in the regions. Some farmers lost as much as $300,000 in ruined crops as the mice chewed through anything they can get their teeth in. 

Australia's bushfire crisis drew worldwide attention in 2019, but it wasn’t the only extreme weather event to plague the nation in recent months. 

Drought, dust storms, fires and floods are normal during an Australian summer. But the severity and duration of these events made the last couple of years one of the worst people can remember. 

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