Radical animal rights organisation PETA says the federal government's failure to put mice on the birth control pill has caused the current horrific plague.
PETA media officer Aleesha Naxakis has made a series of bizarre comments about the mice plague including a plea for farmers to stop poisoning the rodents.
Ms Naxakis has done the rounds of top-rating breakfast radio and television programs this morning in Sydney and Melbourne to argue that poisoning should be avoided because mice suffered extremely painful deaths.
They had just as much right to food as humans, she told Neil Mitchell on Melbourne radio station 3AW.
She conceded mice numbers were now out of control and widespread poisoning was inevitable but her organisation wouldn't endorse the practice.
"It's the fault of the government because they really should have taken control of this situation a lot sooner through humane methods, humane trapping, birth control, deterrents. These are all tried and true ways to control the population of mice," she told Neil Mitchell.
Ms Naxakis was vague about contraception for mice but suggested it would be "oral".
She said mice should also be "gently trapped" and released in another area.
Government inaction "months ago" had led to the current dire situation for mice and farmers, she said.
Ms Naxakis told Sydney's 2GB breakfast radio host Ben Fordham that she wasn't anti-farmer.
However, she said better long-term solutions needed to be found for both farmers and mice.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack described PETA's comments as "reprehensible" and said the organisation's members were "idiots who wouldn't know if their backsides were on fire".
Some farmers have lost up to $300,000 in ruined crops as mice continue their rampage across NSW and parts of Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro said PETA's claims were "ridiculous" and insulting to people living in the regions.
CSIRO mouse expert Steve Henry told a webinar beamed from Molong Golf Club last Friday that zinc phosphide poison was the only real weapon farmers had to combat mice.
The mice have also invaded many country towns turning business and home life into a nightmare for many people.
Ms Naxakis and PETA have copped a hammering on social media with many farmers taking to Twitter to ridicule the organistion's stance.
Vernon Graham
Former editor of The Land, former Fairfax Media Agricultural Editor
Former editor of The Land, former Fairfax Media Agricultural Editor
