Can we keep pests out of New Zealand?
It is a constant battle. Many of the invaders are tiny "hitch-hikers" on people and goods. Snakes are easier to spot, but an Argentine ant nestled into the sole of someone's shoe will get in.
MAF animal biosecurity director Derek Belton says robust
import health standards are developed for risk goods such as meat and dairy products, but spiders, snakes and ants are not attached to particular products.
Then there are the unknown pests. The World Trade Organisation says people may travel and bring items into a country until a risk is identified, when measures are put in place.
What can the public do to help?
Take the issue seriously. When you arrive home after a flight, fill in the arrival form correctly and declare items you should not have, telling officials about the mud from a farm in Britain on your shoes, for example.
Tell visitors from other countries to follow these rules. A spider, mite, moth or mosquito in someone's luggage could devastate a native insect population, a crop or an industry.
Instant fines for people who do not fill out forms correctly have helped with compliance.
Is MAF's biosecurity unit doing enough to keep pests out?
All luggage is now x-rayed at airports. Although this will not pick up a small spider or a moth, Mr Belton says it detects other risk products.
He says New Zealand has the highest biosecurity standards in the world, but could still improve with better tools.
MAF is looking at the development of electronic sniffers, which may be able to sense aromatic compounds in snakes, but the technology is a long way off.
Mr Belton says manual inspection of everything does not work and would cost a fortune. Checking the 400,000 containers that come in each year on ships would cost at least $40 million and bugs and snakes might still be missed.
He believes stationing more MAF officers in overseas ports could help, but having good systems in place works better.
What damage can pests do to the environment and the economy?
The varroa bee mite, which was discovered in New Zealand last year, is expected to cost the honey industry between $600 million and $900 million over the next 35 years.
Foreign ants kill native ants and other insects, snakes would eat native birds and moths cause havoc in orchards.
If New Zealand ever had a foot and mouth outbreak, the estimated cost is $10 billion, mainly in lost export markets.
Is the whole exercise a losing battle?
Definitely not, says Mr Belton. We derive a huge economic advantage from being free of diseases like foot and mouth.
He says the success stories are the diseases that have never got here, such as foot and mouth, BSE, rabies and equine influenza.
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