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Mouse plague in Australia forces prison to close

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Mouse Plague - Level 0

Mice are causing a lot of damage in Australia. There is a mouse plague because of a big harvest on farms. This is a big headache for farmers. The mice caused problems for a prison west of Sydney. It moved 420 prisoners to other prisons because of health and safety reasons. It will take 10 days to clean and repair the prison.

Mice have damaged many buildings. They are a danger to health. They have also damaged electrical wires. This is a danger to buildings. A spokesperson said the health of staff and prisoners is very important. He will make sure the prison is cleaned and repaired. He will look at ways to stop future plagues.

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Mouse Plague - Level 1

Millions of mice are causing a lot of damage in Australia. The country has its worst mouse plague in decades because of a big wheat harvest last year. The mice are a big headache for farmers. The animals have caused problems for a prison west of Sydney. It has moved 200 staff and 420 prisoners to other jails in the area because of health and safety reasons. It will take 10 days to clean the prison and repair electric cables.

Mice have damaged many buildings. Their droppings are a health hazard. In addition, they have damaged electrical wires. This is a danger to buildings and humans. A prisons spokesperson said: "The health, safety and wellbeing of staff and inmates is our number one priority, so it's important for us to...carry out the vital repair work....We need to...ensure the site is thoroughly cleaned and...repaired." He will look at ways to stop future plagues.

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Mouse Plague - Level 2

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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.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Mouse Plague - Level 3

Millions of mice have been creating havoc in Australia. The state of New South Wales is suffering from its worst mouse plague in decades. The mouse population started growing on farms in spring last year because of a bumper wheat harvest. The rodents have been causing farmers a major headache for over a year. The plague has now caused problems for a prison. The Wellington Correctional Centre, about 350km west of Sydney, has been forced to evacuate. Up to 200 staff and 420 prisoners have been transferred to other jails in the region because of health and safety reasons. It will take 10 days for the prison to be cleaned and for repairs to electric cables and woodwork to be carried out.

Mice have been causing damage to buildings throughout the region. Their droppings have become a health hazard that has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean up. In addition, they have chewed through electrical wiring, which has become a danger to property and human life. Prisons spokesperson Peter Severin spoke about the cleaning and repair operations at Wellington. 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 infrastructure is repaired." Staff will also look at ways to protect against plagues in the future.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson

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