Media Releases

WIRES response to current NSW mouse plague

Thursday, June 3, 2021

WIRES is monitoring the mouse plague poisoning situation closely and we have had considerable concern and enquiries from the community about the safety to wildlife. Currently we cannot report a noticeable increase in calls for native animals related to the poisoning, however this may not be indicative of a potential issue as the public usually only reports injured, sick and orphaned cases, not deceased native animals, unless there are large and ongoing numbers being found.

As with all natural disasters the scale of this plague is causing great hardship to the lives and livelihoods of the farmers and rural residents as well as impacting on domestic pets, wildlife and potentially livestock. We trust the solution will not involve introducing even more potent poisons into the environment that could further threaten and affect native animals as many species populations are still recovering from the long term effects of the drought and Black Summer bushfires.

We ask members of the public living in plague affected areas to please call WIRES on 1300 094 737 if they find a native animal showing signs of poisoning or contact your local vet for assessment to ensure the best chance of survival, please don’t touch dead or sick animals.

Please report mass or large scale deaths of native wildlife to:

RSPCA on 1300 278 358

NPWS on 1300 361 967 or email info@environment.nsw.gov.au

For any incident that presents an immediate threat to human health or property please report to the NSW Environmental Protection Authority on 131 555 or info@epa.nsw.gov.au

Contact media@wires.org.au for enquiries or call 0416 272 153.

For the latest updates on bushfire recovery projects and emergency response
Read WIRES Emergency Recovery Plan and WIRES National Emergency Response Plan