Millions of mice have been causing a lot of damage in Australia. One state is suffering its worst mouse plague in decades. Mice numbers started growing last year because of a big wheat harvest. The mice have been causing farmers a big headache for a year. They have now caused problems for a prison about 350km west of Sydney. It has evacuated 200 staff and 420 prisoners. They have been moved to other jails in the area because of health and safety reasons. It will take 10 days to clean the prison and to repair electric cables and woodwork.
Mice have damaged buildings all over the region. Their droppings are now a health hazard that has cost a lot of money to clean up. In addition, they have damaged electrical wiring. This is a danger to property and human life. A prisons spokesperson spoke about the cleaning and repairs. He said: "The health, safety and wellbeing of staff and inmates is our number one priority, so it's important for us to act now to carry out the vital repair work....We need to take this step now to ensure the site is thoroughly cleaned and...repaired." He will look at ways to protect against future plagues.