German farmers are facing a severe infestation of field mice that has stripped an estimated 120,000 hectares of farmland, according to the German Farmers' Association. The rodents have tunnelled under fields and gnawed at crop roots, with the worst damage reported in the states of Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, and Lower Saxony.
In Thuringia, up to a quarter of crops are affected, costing around €450 per hectare of wheat. Farmers estimate they will lose two-thirds of their income and many have had to buy extra animal feed. The infestation is attributed to a succession of dry summers and mild winters, which have allowed mice and voles to thrive.
Agricultural Minister Julia Klöckner has called for an emergency reappraisal of laws governing rodenticides, saying, 'We've already seen huge damage, and more is to be expected.' However, environmentalists warn that poisons could kill endangered species such as hamsters, hares, and migratory birds.
Some animal welfare groups propose a ban on fox hunting, as each fox consumes between 3,000 and 5,000 mice annually. 'Hobby' hunters kill around 400,000 foxes each year in Germany. Farmers are also considering leaving fields unsown over winter to starve the mice.
Joachim Rukwied, president of the German Farmers' Association, supports Klöckner's initiative, stating, 'Farmers must be given the possibility to protect their harvest with appropriate measures.' He noted that environmental restrictions currently prevent effective mouse population control.
Environmentalist Magnus Wessel of the Association for the Protection of the Environment and Nature argues that poison is not a solution, as side effects would be enormous. He advocates for overhauling agricultural management to create a more diverse landscape with hedges and smaller fields, which would support natural predators like birds of prey and foxes.
