Mouse plague: Wellington jail evacuated
A mouse plague at a regional prison has forced hundreds of inmates and staff to be relocated after the rodents chewed through ceiling panels and internal wiring.
NSW
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An invasion of mice has wreaked havoc at the Wellington Correctional Centre, forcing the prison to be evacuated.
The mouse plague has shut down the prison, after rodents ate through both wiring and ceiling panels.
Dead mice are now lodged in wall cavities, causing a stench throughout the prison.
Up to 420 inmates and 200 staff are in the process of being moved to other prisons and will be relocated by the end of the month.
Most staff will be redeployed to other correctional centres in the western region, but a skeleton crew of staff will stay at the Wellington prison to oversee and contribute to fixing the damage.
Inmates will be transferred to a number of sites including Macquarie Correctional Centre, with some inmates returning to Wellington during the day to work.
In-person visits to the prison will be put on hold.
“This process is essential in order to deep-clean and repair the damaged infrastructure, so staff can return to work in a safe environment,” Corrections Minister Anthony Roberts told The Daily Telegraph.
He acknowledged the efforts of prison staff, saying: “their dedication and professionalism in the face of the plague has been exemplary”.
Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Peter Severin said the “vital remediation work” was required for the “health, safety and wellbeing of staff and inmates”.
The remediation work will look at ways to protect the prison from future mouse plagues.
“We want to do this overhaul once and we want it done properly, which means we’ll be looking at ways to mitigate the effects of similar plagues in the future,” Assistant Commissioner Custodial Corrections Kevin Corcoran said.
Farmers impacted by the mouse plague in Western NSW are hoping a cold snap will bring some relief by causing mice populations to crash.
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