Biosecurity Biosecurity refers to measures aimed at preventing the introduction and/or spread of harmful organisms (e.g. viruses, bacteria, etc.) to animals and plants in order to minimize the risk of transmission of infectious disease. In agriculture, thes ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

guards against threats to

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') le ...

, with strict border control measures being taken to prevent unwanted organisms from entering the country. __NOTOC__ New Zealand is an island nation that is geographically isolated from any other significant landmass. The species that are present evolved in the absence of organisms from elsewhere and display a high degree of

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

. Notable is the lack of land-based mammals, except for two species of bat. Indigenous species are at risk from population decline or extinction if any

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

are introduced. The

Biosecurity Act 1993 Biosecurity Act 1993 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. The Act is a restatement and reform of the laws relating to pests and other unwanted organisms. It was a world first. In the Act an "unwanted organism" is defined to be one that "is ...

, which was a world first for biosecurity control, was passed to "restate and reform the law relating to the exclusion, eradication, and effective management of pests and unwanted organisms". The Ministry for Primary Industries is the government department in charge of overseeing New Zealand's biosecurity. The

National Animal Identification and Tracing National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) is a system of agricultural animal tracing in New Zealand for biosecurity and human health. The schemes use radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology and a national database to trace animals ...

system for tracing livestock was introduced in 2012, but in 2017 the ''Mycoplasma bovis'' outbreak investigation indicated that it was not being fully complied with.

Border controls

As well as biosecurity

border control Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

s where there is international passenger and freight movement, government officials have also carried out biosecurity controls within the country. Visitors to New Zealand are most commonly fined for bringing fishing gear, seeds, fruits, bamboo and wooden products at the border. At sea and airports, cargo, passengers and passenger baggage is checked for unwanted organisms. Any that is found is incinerated. Passengers must sign a declaration form stating that they do not have anything that constitutes a biosecurity risk to New Zealand. At border control locations such as airports,

beagle The beagle is a breed of small scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instincts, the ...

s are used for detecting material that constitutes a biosecurity risk because they are relatively small and less intimidating for people who are uncomfortable around dogs, easy to care for, intelligent and work well for rewards. If there is a threat of the spread of unwanted organisms within New Zealand containment measures are carried out. Didymo, an invasive algae that was discovered in New Zealand in 2004, has been the subject of a nationwide campaign to prevent its spread. To prevent the spread of the spores of

kauri dieback Kauri dieback is a forest dieback disease of the native kauri trees (''Agathis australis'') of New Zealand that is suspected to be caused by the oomycete ''Phytophthora agathidicida.'' Symptoms can include root rot and associated rot in a coll ...

disease it is recommended that pathways in the forests are used and equipment should be cleaned before leaving an area where there are kauri trees.

Combating the Queensland fruit fly

The Queensland fruit fly (''

Bactrocera tryoni The Queensland fruit fly (''Bactrocera tryoni'') is a species of fly in the family Tephritidae in the insect order Diptera. ''B. tryoni'' is native to subtropical coastal Queensland and northern New South Wales. They are active during the day, bu ...

'') has caused over $28.5 million a year in damage to Australian fruit crops. Thus, this species poses a risk to biosecurity in New Zealand. A fruit fly exclusion zone (FFEZ) limits the movement of fruit between Australian states and New Zealand.

2017 ''Mycoplasma bovis'' outbreak

On 21 July 2017 the Ministry for Primary Industries was informed that some cattle near

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railw ...

in the South Island were ''

Mycoplasma bovis ''Mycoplasma bovis'' is one of 126 species of genus ''Mycoplasma''. It is the smallest living cell and anaerobic organism in nature. It does not contain any cell wall and is therefore resistant to penicillin and other beta lactam antibiotics. ...

'' positive. Until then, New Zealand and Norway were the only OECD countries free of the disease. (The disease is not hazardous to humans.) Initially it was thought that the disease had been contained within South Canterbury. However, subsequently, some 26,000 cattle were culled and in May 2018 the minister,

Damien O'Connor Damien Peter O'Connor (born 16 January 1958) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who currently serves as Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Minister for Land Information and Minister ...

, announced that the government had decided (after consultation with farmers) that elimination of the disease was proposed. This would require the culling of some 146,000 cattle over about two years, and would cost $886 million, compared with the cost of $1.2 billion to control the disease. Eradication would also be a "world first". It appeared that perhaps 70% of farmers were not fully complying with the requirements since 2012 to track movements of cattle, particularly calves sold "for cash". Another possibility is the illegal importing of drugs by veterinary companies. The latest estimate of the number to be culled was 152,000 in June 2018; 126,000 plus the 26,000 already culled. In August 2018, a Southland farmer was charged under the Biosecurity Act regarding importation of some farm machinery.

Other notable incursions

There have been a number of biosecurity breaches in New Zealand, and on occasion widespread eradications of pest organisms have been carried out. *The painted apple moth was discovered in Auckland in 1999. A

biocontainment One use of the concept of biocontainment is related to laboratory biosafety and pertains to microbiology laboratories in which the physical containment of pathogenic organisms or agents (bacteria, viruses, and toxins) is required, usually by is ...

area was set up and a controversial spray programme carried out to eradicate the moth. Claims that it caused cancer were not upheld. *A single male

gypsy moth ''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' be ...

was caught in a surveillance trap in 2003 within the limits of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

city. An aerial insecticide application programme was initiated to prevent the establishment of any potential population. *The

Varroa mite ''Varroa destructor'', the ''Varroa'' mite is an external parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on the honey bees ''Apis cerana'' and ''Apis mellifera''. The disease caused by the mites is called varroosis. The ''Varroa'' mite can reproduce on ...

was thought to have become established in New Zealand due to a queen bee being smuggled into the country. *The Queensland fruit fly (''

'') was discovered in Auckland in 2012 and 2015, resulting in a temporary ban on the movement of plant products in parts of Auckland. *The plant pathogen ''

Pseudomonas syringae ''Pseudomonas syringae'' is a rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium with polar flagella. As a plant pathogen, it can infect a wide range of species, and exists as over 50 different pathovars, all of which are available to researchers from internat ...

'' pv. ''actinidiae'' (PSA), which affects

kiwifruit Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vines in the genus ''Actinidia''. The most common cultivar group of kiwifru ...

, is thought to have arrived in New Zealand 18 months prior to observed symptoms of the disease. In 2018 growers (but not other operators) won a court case against the government, which found that the government breached its "duty of care" to growers, and the 2010 outbreak was on the "balance of probabilities" due to the importing of kiwifruit pollen by a Te Puke company from 2007 to 2010. *Myrtle rust (''Puccinia psidii'') was found in a Kerikeri nursery in May 2017. The rust has now been confirmed at more than 100 locations across Taranaki, Te Puke, Waikato, Northland, Auckland and Wellington. In May 2005 a hoax claim was made that

foot and mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious disease, infectious and sometimes fatal virus (biology), viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild Bovidae, bovids. The virus causes ...

had been released on

Waiheke Island Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland. It is the most po ...

and would be released elsewhere unless money was paid and tax reforms made. A full agricultural exotic disease response was initiated. No livestock were allowed to enter or leave the island and stock on the island was tested every 48 hours for symptoms of the virus, which would devastate New Zealand's agricultural exports. After three weeks of testing, no infected animals were detected and the response staff were stood down.

References

External links

Biosecurity New Zealand
administered by the Ministry for Primary Industries
Biosecurity
at the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

Environmental issues in New Zealand Agriculture in New Zealand + Phytosanitary authorities Nature conservation in New Zealand