March 21, 2019
Izzy a good dog? You bet … biosecurity detector dog Izzy recently located more than 10 ten kilos of illegally imported fruit and meat products in a passenger’s bag at an Australian airport.
Head of Biosecurity, Lyn O’Connell, said Izzy was doing some routine sniffing when she responded to a passenger’s bag.
“Our biosecurity officers soon found out what had caught her nose,” Ms O’Connell said.
“They found almost 8kg of nashi pears, 2kg oranges, 325g of chicken meat and more than 2kg of pork products that included pig meat, sausages and trotters.
“These types of meat products can transmit diseases that would be devastating for Australia, including African swine fever and foot and mouth disease.
“A further search revealed the passenger was also carrying 650g of nashi pears in another bag.
“There is no excuse if you bring these or other biosecurity risk items to Australia. Either leave them at home, or don’t be sorry and just declare them.”
Food and mouth disease could cost the Australian economy billions and take a decade to eradicate. Fragments of FMD and ASF were recently detected in pork products intercepted at Australia’s airports and mail centres, so the risk is real.
The fresh fruit in the passenger’s bag could have been harbouring diseases and pests such as citrus canker and fruit fly. Both of these could have a devastating impact on Australia’s horticulture industries.
The goods were destroyed and the passenger was issued with an infringement notice.
(Photo: Dept of Agriculture)
