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A BIOSECURITY dog has started her sniffing career in style – her detection work resulting in a Vietnamese air passenger being denied entry to New Zealand and later sent home.
New Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) detector dog Clara (pictured with handler Lucy Telfar), who only started work last week, sniffed out plant material in a bag and a suitcase carried by the passenger on Thursday at Auckland International Airport.
The passenger had not declared any food materials on her arrival card.
Further investigation of the passenger's baggage revealed food packages that appeared to have been opened and repacked with biosecurity risk goods.
"That's when the alarm bells went off," says MPI detection technology manager Brett Hickman.
"There were seeds in a milk container. Other packages contained risk items such as home-produced pulled pork, pork floss, dried plants with insect damage, fresh leaves, and rooted cuttings.
"The items posed high risk to a wide range of New Zealand primary industries. For example, the homemade pork products could have been carrying foot and mouth disease.
"We believe the passenger's action was a deliberate attempt to smuggle dangerous goods into New Zealand."
As a result of Clara's good work, immigration officials refused the woman permission to enter the country. She was sent back to Vietnam on Friday.
Hickman says MPI currently has more than 35 dog teams working at airports and ports around the country to sniff out biosecurity items.
In this biosecurity article, I touch on four subjects of recent interest: the new New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) Biosecurity Contractor Resources, a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug update, a Xylella Action Group update, and the Forest Biosecurity Conference.
Taranaki has launched Biosecurity Taranaki in an effort to safeguard the region’s environment.
Every year, the New Zealand Winegrowers biosecurity team is sent an increasing number of images from members of suspected grapevine pest insects and disease symptoms, evidence that a high level of biosecurity awareness is building amongst the industry.
Biosecurity New Zealand says its frontline teams are ready for the anticipated influx of summer travellers with changes to arrivals processing at airports and the introduction of new hosts to help people.
Biosecurity New Zealand has welcomed 23 new quarantine officers and four new detector dog handlers this month.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.
