2 billion Chinese mice overrun lake area

AP on Yahoo ^ | 7/9/07 | AP

[NormsRevenge]

BEIJING - People living in communities surrounding a large shallow lake have been overrun by field mice after floodwaters drove the rodents out of islands on the lake, state media reported Monday.

The mouse invasion began on June 23 when the Yangtze River flooded, raising the water level in central China's Dongting Lake and submerging mouse holes on lake islands, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Now, an estimated 2 billion mice are ravaging crops in 22 counties around the lake, and authorities were rushing to construct walls and ditches to keep the rodents out. Residents have killed more than 2.3 million field mice — or 90 tons of the rodents, Xinhua said.

In Hunan province's Yiyang County, a ditch along the lakeshore was filled with mice. Residents were using clubs and shovels to beat them to death, while others scooped the furry animals out using fishing nets.

Mice have already damaged dikes and ruined crops in areas where authorities were slow to build walls and ditches, Xinhua said.

The rodent problem was expected to worsen as more floods were forecast for the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake.

[toddlintown]

Dry and smoke them, then pack them in terriyaki sauce. Sell them over bars in the U.S. as oriental mice jerky. Good with a cold bottle of Tsiang Tao. Or has that been done before?

[UnklGene]

"You're not one of those rogue Chinese field mice, are you?"

[Old Professer]

That still leaves about 5 inches of elbow room per mouse.

[-YYZ-]

Also a movie, a pretty good one, I think.

[bolobaby]

They must have come out of their hidey holes to watch Live Earth. Clearly, this is the audience of 2 billion that Al Gorebbels was talking about!

[yorkie]

I just watched the clip from #10, and am *this* close to being ill!

I saw the movie Ratatouille last week with the little ones, and had to get up and go outside for a breath of fresh air, I found it so repulsive. Especially when hundreds of Ratatouille’s rat friends took over the kitchen.

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/ratatouille/

The only person who could ever think a rodent was ‘cute’ was Walt Disney.

Phoenix is inundated with roof rats this time of year. It is disgusting.

[Natural Law]

The problem will disappear immediately if someone starts the rumor that Kung Pao Mouse is an aphrodisiac.

[larryjohnson]

I trap,oh maybe 3 tiny meese a year and dem wife calls orkan to replace me

[TheSpottedOwl]

I’d say import all our “unwanted” cats, but they’d get eaten by humans. Let’s send them a truckload of snakes, monitor lizards, iguanas, roadrunners, hawks. Well, anything that isn’t truly endangered.

[TheSpottedOwl]

We get field mice in the winter. The cats take care of the problem, quite efficiently :)

[Centurion2000]

HOLY CRAP that was weird.

[A CA Guy]

"Mice have already damaged dikes"

Say it ain't so!

[radiohead]

Jebus, Mary and Joseph! I vaguely remember seeing some of the video years ago, but man, that was something. The damage they did to the building and eating the animals alive was something!

At least the Australian government helped these people out. I can’t imagine Bejing is going to lift a finger.

[Old_Mil]

Now, an estimated 2 billion mice are ravaging crops in 22 counties around the lake, and authorities were rushing to construct walls and ditches to keep the rodents out. Residents have killed more than 2.3 million field mice — or 90 tons of the rodents, Xinhua said.

In other news, profit margins of American food importers soar due to an unexpected glut of Chinese meat.

[CarrotAndStick]

I wouldn't have minded if it were my property, and the government wanted to use tactical nukes to combat that, lol!