2021 mouse plague: ‘Horrifying’ photo of mice caught in NSW water tank

A disgusting image has revealed the grim reality of the mouse plague afflicting NSW’s regional areas.

A “gut-wrenching” photo has captured the far-reaching impact of the mouse plague striking the state’s regions, with its stomach-churning contents enough to prompt a public health warning.

A photo of at least a dozen dead mice caught in the filter of a family’s water tank – which supplies their drinking water has highlighted the very real health issues that can come from the onslaught of rodents running wild in the regions.

Louise Hennessy, of Elong Elong near Dubbo, made the gruesome discovery after checking the water tank following heavy rain on Thursday.

Louise Hennessy said she felt "horrified" after checking the filter of her water tank following heavy rain, only to find at least a dozen dead mice captured in it. Image: Facebook

“It was gut-wrenching and horrifying,” Ms Hennessy told The Daily Telegraph, adding the “stink” of the dead mice was bad enough that she washed her clothes immediately after.

A paramedic for 23 years, Ms Hennessy said it “takes a lot” to make her feel ill – although the decaying rodents in her drinking water nearly did it.

It prompted her to call Health NSW, who gave Ms Hennessy advice on how to disinfect her water tank, the sole drinking water for the household.

The image follows Coonamble farmer Anne Cullen’s pictures of a rodent infestation at her property. Picture: 2GB

The Elong Elong resident also implored other rural residents to regularly check their filters amid the plague gripping the bush – saying that she last checked her filter less than a week ago.

While on that occasion she found merely “clumps of fur”, she said her subsequent gruesome discovery had prompted her to spread the word about what could be a very real health issue.

“I just want to spread the word that people should be checking their filters with mice the way they are,” she said, with a subsequent Facebook post being shared nearly 4000 times by Sunday.

The spread of rodents last month prompted Hunter New England Health, whose catchment includes nearly a million NSW residents, issued a health warning against leptospirosis – an infection spread by rats and mice which can cause kidney failure or bleeding in the lungs in severe cases.

Rain and the bumper harvest of grain that came with it over the summer is the main reason for the population boom, University of Sydney Professor Peter Backs told the Telegraph last month.