By Rebecca Flood
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A clip of thousands of rodents swarming a haystack has gone viral as experts claim Australia is in the grip of a "mouse plague."
A video shared to TikTok, by user Zac Brennan, shows a large plastic cover being pulled off a linear stack of hay.
As the protective sheeting is slowly peeled away, thousands of mice can be seen scrambling for cover.
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The rodents dart in every direction as they're exposed to the light, while some continue to cling to the crops.
Zac simply captioned the clip "mice problems," while in the background of the video someone can be heard exclaiming "holy s***" as the vermin scatter.
The viral video, captured in Australia, has been viewed more than 35 million times, as farmers called on the government for urgent action.
The Australian state of New South Wales has been the worst hit by the rodent horde, as experts revealed there has been an explosion in the mice population following a bumper harvest and plentiful rain.
NSW Farmers President, James Jackson, said: "Action is needed now. This mice situation is only getting worse. Mice damage reports coming in from farmers and rural communities from the north, south and central west are increasing significantly."
An accompanying release went into further detail, saying: "The mice plague is also having a human health impact, with the NSW Western Area Health Service reporting increased cases of leptospirosis as a result of mice in domestic dwellings."
Feralscan's March Mouse Alert report revealed "high mouse abundance" in southern Queensland, northern, central and southern parts of NSW, the north-west region of Victoria, and sections of South Australia.
NSW Young Farmers deputy chair, Martin Murray, told The Farmer Magazine: "A lot of areas have bad mouse numbers, but many areas are probably hotspots and they are certainly in plague-proportions there."
NSW Young Farmers tweeted a similar clip of another haystack infested with mice last month, saying: "Mice numbers are exploding in many parts of NSW. Haystacks are being destroyed, silos invaded, winter crop sowing is at risk and there is a human health impact. @NSWFarmers is calling for action."
Commenting on the video, Ashleigh Hull said: "Feeling for the farmers. Coming from drought and having the best crops in a long time to them being destroyed by mice. Heartbreaking!"
Matthew John Stafford recalled: "Saw a plague like that about 40 years ago in the WA wheatbelt. Even got into farmers vehicles."
Catherine Scanlon thought: "Oh sweet Jesus! Imagine walking around there in your flip flops."
While Dave Derksen Sr. admitted: "I'm not scared of mice, but I am of that many! My skin is crawling just looking at that."
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