Figures released on the amount of illegal meat imports confiscated by quarantine officials were described yesterday as “horrific” by Biosecurity Minister Jim Sutton.
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Speaking at a meeting of the Meat New Zealand authority in Rotorua, Sutton revealed that airport staff seized 8.5 tonnes of meat and poultry products from people entering the country during he course of 2000. Of this, a third was undeclared goods and the remaining two thirds were smuggled in by people from foot and mouth infected countries.
Quarantine staff at New Zealand airports have been forced to cancel all leave and off site training to cope with the increased threat of smugglers operating on flights from high-risk disease areas such as Britain.
Sutton praised the quarantine staff for doing an incredibly difficult job: “They all know of the critical importance of their work. I am certain they are carrying out their duties to the best of their abilities.”
The figures from last year also revealed that staff had seized 1.8 tonnes of seeds, 16 tonnes of potential fruit fly host material, 12,000 units of nursery stock, live eggs and 168 live animals.
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By GlobalData
