Australia issued an emergency permit for the use of a powerful poison to halt a swelling mice infestation across several growing regions, as farmers grapple with the fallout from the Iran war and a looming El Nino.
The permit was granted on Monday and allows for the limited use of the double-strength zinc phosphide bait, according to a statement from the government¡¯s regulator of agricultural chemical products. It followed an application from the country¡¯s main grain industry body in late April that cited extremely high mice numbers in some regions at the onset of crop planting season.
The economic impact from mice can be widespread. They can attack emerging crops, devour and soil stored grain, and damage machinery and infrastructure by chewing through cables. The previous plague in 2021 cost the state of New South Wales more than 600 million Australian dollars ($428 million), according to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
The current plague heaps additional pressure on Australian farmers, who have faced higher fertilizer and fuel costs due to the Iran war, and could be impacted by a weather-roiling El Nino later this year. The nation is one of the world¡¯s largest grain exporters, sending millions of tons of wheat and canola to countries across Southeast Asia and the Middle East, as well as China.
In March, prior to the start of grain sowing, the CSIRO reported high mice numbers in South Australia, and parts of Western Australia. Local media footage has shown swarms of rodents running across fields, eating produce and getting trapped in grain containers in some towns in the west.
Canola and barley are often the worst affected by mice infestations, said Andrew Weidemann, a founding director of Grain Producers Australia, the group that made the application for use of the bait. Some farmers across Western Australia ¡ª the country¡¯s biggest wheat-producing region ¡ª have been forced to replant crops due to the damage from rodents, he added.
¡°They¡¯ll actually climb up the stalks of the wheat and nip off the head,¡± Weidemann said, adding that mice numbers needed to be brought under control as quickly as possible before the season progressed.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has allowed farmers to use the potent bait until Dec. 15. This type of bait is also highly poisonous to birds and mammals.
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