A mother who spotted a blood-thirsty tick embedded in her daughter's shoulder at Auckland airport did the right thing by alerting biosecurity officials.

New Zealand is “off track” in transitioning to a low-carbon future amid increasing international pressure to slash emissions, according to a Government briefing.

Passengers on an Air New Zealand plane were kept on board amid fears of a contagious virus.

An outspoken ecologist has been charged with possessing illegal trees - trees he insists don't exist.

One Kiwi traveller's decision to store his blood-soaked clothes from an exotic overseas trip landed him in hot-water with airport officials.

A box from South Africa containing animal skulls crawling with maggots has been stopped at the border by biosecurity staff.

A pack of dogs has been brought from Australia to become new biosecurity detector animals at New Zealand airports.

The discovery of a male Queensland fruit fly in Whangarei has sparked a major biosecurity alert. Up to 50 Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) staff were in the city.

When some workers were battling the back-to-work blues after a summer holiday, biosecurity sniffer dog Zeta was tugging at the reins to get back on the job.

Surprised border officials have intercepted a live Christmas tree, complete with pot of soil, sent by post from the UK.

An Australian man who smuggled live scorpions into the country has been fined more than $10,000.

An Australian man who smuggled live scorpions into the country will be sentenced today.

Two brothers were yesterday sentenced to 150 hours' community work and two months' community detention after previously admitting charges relating to the possession, sale and disposition of scorpions.

Pamela Wade reminds us what to do when an illegal hitch-hiker comes home with us from an overseas trip.

A Vietnamese air passenger has been charged with smuggling live tropical fish in his trouser pockets after airport staff noticed water dripping down the man's leg.

A prominent agricultural scientist says New Zealand deserves only a half-mark for its biosecurity efforts - and warns that new free-trade agreements and increased tourism could pose a threat at the border.

A world-first trial involving Air New Zealand flights aims to boost biosecurity at the border.

Queenstown, even with its ice and snow, has proved irresistible for at least one Australian import spotted during the seasonal surge of non-native visitors arriving in the resort.

Auckland Airport biosecurity staff have avoided a nasty nipping after finding five live crabs in a Vietnamese passenger's luggage.