'Extreme' rodent problem at Newfoundland jail poses health risks, says ex-inspector

A retired Ontario health inspector says reports from inmates and judges about rodents at Newfoundland's largest jail suggest an "extreme" and long-standing infestation.

A retired Ontario health inspector says reports from inmates and judges about rodents at Newfoundland's largest jail suggest an "extreme" and long-standing infestation.

Marilyn Lee, professor emeritus at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Occupational and Public Health, was taken aback in a recent interview by reports of rodents biting and climbing over inmates as they slept at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St. John's. She said the outbreak at the aging facility poses serious health concerns for guards and inmates.

"Prisoners or whoever, they shouldn't have to put up with something like a rodent infestation, no matter what the species is," said Lee, who inspected stores, restaurants and correctional facilities in Ontario in the 1980s.

Her Majesty's Penitentiary first opened in 1859, though it has seen several upgrades and overhauls. Its crumbling, outdated infrastructure is well documented, as are its rampant problems with rodents.

A ruling last year from a provincial court judge includes details about a 25-year-old inmate who was bitten by a rodent while he was sleeping. "He observed what appeared to be teeth marks in the wound," Judge Jacqueline Brazil wrote, adding that the penitentiary nurse agreed the bite was likely from a rodent.

Lee was particularly struck by this incident.

"It would have to be a huge infestation" for a rodent to bite someone unprovoked, she said, adding that she encountered just one instance of a rodent biting someone in six years of health inspecting.