Talk:Central West (New South Wales)

NSW mice plague

Swept in from the pub

For those who may have read the article Central West (New South Wales) recently, you may have some clue on what's going on. But now, times have changed, and mice have been spotted in Sydney, and are hopping on cars. They've recently been known for some engine failures, as well as some chewed seatbelts. Mostly, riverside areas have been affected. But my question is whether to include a warning box or not. I'm not sure if a traveller will give two thoughts about this, but at the same time - it is an ongoing serious issue. But by putting warning boxes on all the places that are affected, that'll just discourage people from going there entirely. So, should I add it, or not. All opinions welcome! Cheers, SHB2000 (talk | contribs | en.wikipedia) 09:04, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

I think no warning boxes should be put in all relevant articles – warning boxes all over will not be adequately maintained and travellers should read some articles higher up in the hierarchy. Perhaps it's the state level that can be expected to be read for Australia. As not all the state is affected, a link to the Central West article, and a description there, would suffice. As this hardly is a lethal danger (it isn't a new Black Death, I suppose), a cautionbox should be used rather than a warningbox. A bit more of explanation would be needed though: Can the illness transfer to people? should you take measures if you have a vehicle? Should those afraid of rodents keep clear entirely? That this is something happening regularly could also be mentioned. Unfortunately the Wikipedia article says little on the subject. –LPfi (talk) 12:17, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

And sigh, I've just heard an hour ago that a couple of Sydneysiders, (300km away from Central West) has had a mice in their backyard. Last week, someone's car went on fire, due to mice in Moss Vale (about 400km away). Additionally, two days ago, there were reports that some fish had about 10-15 mice in them [1] (sorry, paywalled article). So would we just recommend readers to not leave food out in the open and avoid going fishing? SHB2000 (talk | contribs | en.wikipedia) 13:01, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

Why avoid going fishing? Nurg (talk) 08:45, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

Because those fish have about 10-15 mice in them. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | en.wikipedia) 08:47, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

So mice should avoid going fishing, but why would humans avoid fishing? Nurg (talk) 10:41, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

Well, obviously the fish aren't healthy, and may not be safe to eat. While I appreciate that most people who do recreational fishing including myself just let the fish go, fishing would just damage the river's already damaged ecosystem. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | en.wikipedia) 11:06, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

The fish are eating mice? That seems good. Ikan Kekek (talk) 11:22, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

Or not. The last time I went fishing (a few weeks back) and the fish were twice its usual size. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | en.wikipedia) 11:23, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

(after edit confict) It's quite normal and healthy for carnivorous fish to eat things like mice, and for people to eat the fish. Have the mice been poisoned? That might be a health risk. But if they haven't been poisoned, I would have thought the fish would be big and healthy. One would want to gut them, as is usual. Nurg (talk) 11:37, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

This is not normal. The fish are native species but the mice that they're consuming is not. The native mice that live in NSW don't usually swim. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | en.wikipedia) 11:44, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

Not normal, I agree – like reindeer eating lemmings, but I read such things happen (much richer food than birch and lichen). The question is whether the mice carry pathogens that can infect the fish or the fisherman, either in that the plague itself can infect humans, that the fish are tempted to eat mice that are unhealthy for other reasons, such as having been dead for some time, or that the abnormal diet makes the fish unhealthy by being abnormal. –LPfi (talk) 20:21, 3 June 2021 (UTC)

Banner

I think this summarizes the region better. --SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 13:01, 23 May 2022 (UTC)

banner 0

banner 1

I don't know the region but like both banners and hope there's someplace to use both. Ikan Kekek (talk) 20:33, 23 May 2022 (UTC)

I forgot about this but Replaced. SHB2000 (talk | contribs | meta.wikimedia) 11:10, 11 July 2022 (UTC)