Airports caught thousands of travellers with biosecurity risks in 2023
June 10, 2024 7:57 AM Subscribe
Australian airports caught thousands of travellers with biosecurity risks in 2023, including holy water from the Ganges. A live toad, holy water from the Ganges and an aphrodisiac made from donkeys are among the more unusual items detected at Australian airports and mail centres.
Context: there are a lot of diseases, viruses, and parasites that are common in Britain/Europe/Asia/North America that are not present at all in Australia, and Australia would very much like to keep it that way.
You have no idea how aggravating I find my brain's continual insistence on confusing "cassowaries" with "pessaries." There's no reason for it. I have no idea how it happened. But it persists. Every god damn time someone mentions cassowaries. Clearly I can never go to Australia. I do regret that.
On another note, I am very impressed that Australian Airport Security apparently has some kind of holy water detector. Water seems ordinary enough that I must conclude is it somehow detecting the holiness. That could have much broader applications, I think.
posted by Naberius at 8:57 AM on June 10 [12 favorites]
On another note, I am very impressed that Australian Airport Security apparently has some kind of holy water detector. Water seems ordinary enough that I must conclude is it somehow detecting the holiness. That could have much broader applications, I think.
posted by Naberius at 8:57 AM on June 10 [12 favorites]
I got caught in the US Custom's Great Chinese Seed Freakout at the start of the pandemic. About $50 worth of Haworthia and Gasteria seeds destroyed that i had purchased from the Haworthia and Gasteria Society who I've bought from twice a year or so for a decade prior. They claimed that the shipment violated some rule but as far I know they have always been in compliance - clearly labelled seeds, no wild collected seed and no CITES listed stuff. Also nothing I grow makes it into the ground. It's all grown indoors.
I'm fully on board with biosecurity and know Kiwi (as in NZ) plant collectors who can no longer import anything and as a result have developed a fantastic culture of plant hybridization with their existing plant stock that they can export.
especially when this dynamic really seems to only go in one direction. You don’t exactly see stories of Aussies attempting to smuggle cassowaries abroad.
I guarantee you it is not one directional. There are crazy collectors of everything and now their are feral hippos in South America. The difference is that Aus and NZ put a lot of effort into trying to stop it. Hawaii has also recently stepped up its bio-security efforts (too late for a lot of species though - they just declared a whole whack of birds extinct in the past year).
posted by srboisvert at 8:58 AM on June 10 [4 favorites]
I'm fully on board with biosecurity and know Kiwi (as in NZ) plant collectors who can no longer import anything and as a result have developed a fantastic culture of plant hybridization with their existing plant stock that they can export.
especially when this dynamic really seems to only go in one direction. You don’t exactly see stories of Aussies attempting to smuggle cassowaries abroad.
I guarantee you it is not one directional. There are crazy collectors of everything and now their are feral hippos in South America. The difference is that Aus and NZ put a lot of effort into trying to stop it. Hawaii has also recently stepped up its bio-security efforts (too late for a lot of species though - they just declared a whole whack of birds extinct in the past year).
posted by srboisvert at 8:58 AM on June 10 [4 favorites]
You don’t exactly see stories of Aussies attempting to smuggle cassowaries abroad.
That seems to assume that the people bring this stuff into Australia are not, themselves, Australian which is not necessarily the case. A lot of biosecurity hazards are brought into places by people returning home from abroad, bringing (intentionally or unintentionally) souvenirs that are a little less sterile than the ones they could have bought in an airport gift shop.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:08 AM on June 10 [5 favorites]
That seems to assume that the people bring this stuff into Australia are not, themselves, Australian which is not necessarily the case. A lot of biosecurity hazards are brought into places by people returning home from abroad, bringing (intentionally or unintentionally) souvenirs that are a little less sterile than the ones they could have bought in an airport gift shop.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:08 AM on June 10 [5 favorites]
You don’t exactly see stories of Aussies attempting to smuggle cassowaries abroad
There are, sadly, far too many people trying to get rich by illegally smuggling Australian birds (parrot sized birds, also eggs the size of parrot-eggs) and reptiles (including lizards and snakes) out of the country.
The Australian government is trying very hard to stop this.
Among other reasons, for every 1 animal that makes it to an overseas collector, a lot more animals died along the smuggling route.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:12 AM on June 10 [9 favorites]
There are, sadly, far too many people trying to get rich by illegally smuggling Australian birds (parrot sized birds, also eggs the size of parrot-eggs) and reptiles (including lizards and snakes) out of the country.
The Australian government is trying very hard to stop this.
Among other reasons, for every 1 animal that makes it to an overseas collector, a lot more animals died along the smuggling route.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:12 AM on June 10 [9 favorites]
On another note, I am very impressed that Australian Airport Security apparently has some kind of holy water detector.
It started as an employment scheme for the undead. It’s been very successful.
More seriously, I feel there is a lot of ambiguity around some of the rules. Awhile back, I had spent some time hiking through Wales, up valleys that did double duty as sheep pastures, and, on my return, I asked the customs officer if I should mark that I’d visited a farm or not, and he seemed perplexed that I’d asked. I didn’t argue, but, if contaminants could be spread via sheep waste, there was a non-zero chance I had some on my boots. I suppose for things like Ganges water, people aren’t thinking about other things that might be in the water besides holiness, but a lot of this sounds like already-criminal animal trade, where there for exotic pets or alternative medicine or, I guess, weird cooking experiments.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:14 AM on June 10 [6 favorites]
It started as an employment scheme for the undead. It’s been very successful.
More seriously, I feel there is a lot of ambiguity around some of the rules. Awhile back, I had spent some time hiking through Wales, up valleys that did double duty as sheep pastures, and, on my return, I asked the customs officer if I should mark that I’d visited a farm or not, and he seemed perplexed that I’d asked. I didn’t argue, but, if contaminants could be spread via sheep waste, there was a non-zero chance I had some on my boots. I suppose for things like Ganges water, people aren’t thinking about other things that might be in the water besides holiness, but a lot of this sounds like already-criminal animal trade, where there for exotic pets or alternative medicine or, I guess, weird cooking experiments.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:14 AM on June 10 [6 favorites]
Incidentally, at several Australian airports they have adorable beagle sniffer dogs checking for stray apples or bananas in peoples luggage, because those apples/bananas could carry agricultural pests/diseases that could decimate Australian agriculture.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:15 AM on June 10 [7 favorites]
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:15 AM on June 10 [7 favorites]
That seems to assume that the people bring this stuff into Australia are not, themselves, Australian which is not necessarily the case.
Good point, total assumption. I definitely feel like the average Australian I met was way more conscious of biosecurity hazards than anyone I’d met elsewhere, or at least seemed to treat them as more of a clear and present danger rather than a relic of blundering colonialism (although there’s plenty of that too, hello cane toad). With that sort of cultural knowledge, the audacity of some of the examples made me think they couldn’t be Australians doing it. Also, just the sheer tonnage cited going through the mail.. oof. Still, that definitely was an assumption, and it’s not unheard of for people in say, regions of North America that are overrun with kudzu to try to import invasive species when they really should know better, to say nothing of travelers unwittingly ferrying microbial threats.
Hearing about the smuggling trade is heartbreaking.
posted by 1024 at 9:21 AM on June 10 [3 favorites]
Good point, total assumption. I definitely feel like the average Australian I met was way more conscious of biosecurity hazards than anyone I’d met elsewhere, or at least seemed to treat them as more of a clear and present danger rather than a relic of blundering colonialism (although there’s plenty of that too, hello cane toad). With that sort of cultural knowledge, the audacity of some of the examples made me think they couldn’t be Australians doing it. Also, just the sheer tonnage cited going through the mail.. oof. Still, that definitely was an assumption, and it’s not unheard of for people in say, regions of North America that are overrun with kudzu to try to import invasive species when they really should know better, to say nothing of travelers unwittingly ferrying microbial threats.
Hearing about the smuggling trade is heartbreaking.
posted by 1024 at 9:21 AM on June 10 [3 favorites]
> You don’t exactly see stories of Aussies attempting to smuggle cassowaries abroad.
i know there are very good reasons for these regulations and am at the end of the day very glad that people follow them but nevertheless there’s a part of me — that part of me that knows both life and money are finite and admits that in my sorry finitude i will likely not get to travel to all the places to which I would so love to travel — that wishes that it were possible to see with my own two human eyes the famed charioteers of terra australis without having to book a ticket to the antipodes
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 9:27 AM on June 10 [4 favorites]
i know there are very good reasons for these regulations and am at the end of the day very glad that people follow them but nevertheless there’s a part of me — that part of me that knows both life and money are finite and admits that in my sorry finitude i will likely not get to travel to all the places to which I would so love to travel — that wishes that it were possible to see with my own two human eyes the famed charioteers of terra australis without having to book a ticket to the antipodes
posted by bombastic lowercase pronouncements at 9:27 AM on June 10 [4 favorites]
A lot of Australians do do the right thing around biosecurity (and I think knowledge around eg Mad Cow Disease/CJD, Rabies, Food And Mouth Disease, Fruit Fly etc is on average much higher in Australia), but you are always going to have some people who are genuinely ignorant, and some people who are defiant.
One man at a biosecurity checkpoint at the Western Australia/South Australia state border was so incensed about being asked to surrender his jar of honey (bee diseases are a Big Deal, and some states have them and some states don't) that he ate a large jar of honey on the spot at the border checkpoint, and then immediately crashed his truck due to super high blood sugar (he was diabetic).
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:28 AM on June 10 [8 favorites]
One man at a biosecurity checkpoint at the Western Australia/South Australia state border was so incensed about being asked to surrender his jar of honey (bee diseases are a Big Deal, and some states have them and some states don't) that he ate a large jar of honey on the spot at the border checkpoint, and then immediately crashed his truck due to super high blood sugar (he was diabetic).
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 9:28 AM on June 10 [8 favorites]
wishes that it were possible to see with my own two human eyes the famed charioteers of terra australis without having to book a ticket to the antipodesunverified list of wish-granting locations
posted by pulposus at 9:43 AM on June 10 [2 favorites]
bombastic lowercase pronouncements, depending on where you live, that may be more achievable than you think. I think there’s at least one non-smuggled one in one of the national animal jails in DC. You’d be probably be seeing it through a thick pane of glass, but that’s how I encountered them in Oz, and really the only way I would ever want to interact with one.
The thing you’d be missing out on is immersion. Australia doesn’t just have one or two fantastic birds. Almost EVERY bird is different, and there really seems to be an above-average percentage of phenomenal ones you encounter, even in cities. I am huge fan of birds of every feather, they bring me joy, and Australia was peak bird for me. I even liked the bin chickens, from my perspective as a foreigner that doesn’t have to with deal with them after I left. And I can absolutely see how they’d be a market for smuggling them out, and the horrors that trade would entail.
posted by 1024 at 9:51 AM on June 10 [3 favorites]
The thing you’d be missing out on is immersion. Australia doesn’t just have one or two fantastic birds. Almost EVERY bird is different, and there really seems to be an above-average percentage of phenomenal ones you encounter, even in cities. I am huge fan of birds of every feather, they bring me joy, and Australia was peak bird for me. I even liked the bin chickens, from my perspective as a foreigner that doesn’t have to with deal with them after I left. And I can absolutely see how they’d be a market for smuggling them out, and the horrors that trade would entail.
posted by 1024 at 9:51 AM on June 10 [3 favorites]
Oh you think you are so smart Naberius. I know you thought you'd catch me conflating Cassowary with Pessary. Well it's not gonna happen. I have great mental hygiene and I'm on to your little game!
Oh Goddamnit!
posted by evilDoug at 11:49 AM on June 10 [1 favorite]
Oh Goddamnit!
posted by evilDoug at 11:49 AM on June 10 [1 favorite]
an aphrodisiac made from donkeys are among the more unusual items detected
there are a lot of diseases, viruses, and parasites that are common in Britain/Europe/Asia/North America that are not present at all in Australia, and Australia would very much like to keep it that way.
Even donkey cock? Where's that frontier spirit?
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:03 PM on June 10 [1 favorite]
there are a lot of diseases, viruses, and parasites that are common in Britain/Europe/Asia/North America that are not present at all in Australia, and Australia would very much like to keep it that way.
Even donkey cock? Where's that frontier spirit?
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:03 PM on June 10 [1 favorite]
Incidentally, at several Australian airports they have adorable beagle sniffer dogs checking for stray apples or bananas in peoples luggage
They have these at most US points of entry as well. Which my wife learned the hard way when she grabbed a banana at the Lufthansa lounge in Frankfurt (she grabs them by habit, it's her preferred snack) and proceeded to completely forget it was in her purse for the next 12 hours. Probably good to avoid fruit period if you're getting on an international flight that day.
posted by photo guy at 1:32 PM on June 10 [3 favorites]
They have these at most US points of entry as well. Which my wife learned the hard way when she grabbed a banana at the Lufthansa lounge in Frankfurt (she grabs them by habit, it's her preferred snack) and proceeded to completely forget it was in her purse for the next 12 hours. Probably good to avoid fruit period if you're getting on an international flight that day.
posted by photo guy at 1:32 PM on June 10 [3 favorites]
The state of California has biosecurity checks at the Oregon border, to protect the state's huge agriculture business from unwanted invaders. Fair, fair and good.
But I know and remember this because I once ate two pounds of cherries at that border, instead of throwing them away like a sane person. I had regrets.
posted by birdsongster at 2:31 PM on June 10 [6 favorites]
But I know and remember this because I once ate two pounds of cherries at that border, instead of throwing them away like a sane person. I had regrets.
posted by birdsongster at 2:31 PM on June 10 [6 favorites]
Abehammerb Lincoln : Even donkey cock? Where's that frontier spirit?
Of all the things that can kill you in Australia, Donkey Cock seems downright benign.
posted by dr_dank at 5:21 PM on June 10 [2 favorites]
Of all the things that can kill you in Australia, Donkey Cock seems downright benign.
posted by dr_dank at 5:21 PM on June 10 [2 favorites]
Even donkey cock? Where's that frontier spirit?
Australians have learned the hard way, over and over, that, if you let an invasive species in, soon you have great herds of donkey cock bothering kangaroos, irking quolls, and exasperating numbats. Please do not exasperate the numbats.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:45 PM on June 10 [5 favorites]
Australians have learned the hard way, over and over, that, if you let an invasive species in, soon you have great herds of donkey cock bothering kangaroos, irking quolls, and exasperating numbats. Please do not exasperate the numbats.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:45 PM on June 10 [5 favorites]
I was lucky enough to be able to travel from the Netherlands to New Zealand in 2009. The agents at the checkpoint impressed me with their friendly and professional behaviour. They helped us clean our motorcycle boots, and took the time to convince themselves that what we were carrying was indeed a tarp, not a tent. It could be admitted because it rests on poles and doesn't touch the ground.
The tiny pieces of coral and wood on my neckchain were fine too once I explained that they had been on that neckchain for a decade.
All done with a smile, and quite efficiently. There's plenty of reason for them to be as careful as they were, but their great attitude was a bonus.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:43 AM on June 11 [2 favorites]
The tiny pieces of coral and wood on my neckchain were fine too once I explained that they had been on that neckchain for a decade.
All done with a smile, and quite efficiently. There's plenty of reason for them to be as careful as they were, but their great attitude was a bonus.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:43 AM on June 11 [2 favorites]
The TV show Border Security has a bunch of episodes up on youtube.
posted by WhackyparseThis at 4:10 AM on June 11
posted by WhackyparseThis at 4:10 AM on June 11
I flew back to Australia during mad cow times having gone hiking on a British farm a couple of days earlier. My shoes were cleaned by customs people to within an inch of their lives, and for free too. It was great.
posted by deadwax at 4:12 AM on June 11 [1 favorite]
posted by deadwax at 4:12 AM on June 11 [1 favorite]
I'm from New Zealand (similar biosecurity controls as Australia) and travel a fair bit - it's kind of second nature now to clean my shoes before packing them to come home, and packing everything declarable in a bag at the top of my suitcase for easy access. There are so many diseases and pests we just straight-up don't have because of our biosecurity rules. (e.g. if I see a bat out in the middle of the day in my hometown, I will unhesitatingly pick it up and take it to a vet or the nearest Department of Conservation office with zero concerns because it a) is definitely a protected native bat, that's the only kind we have here, and b) definitely does not have rabies)
posted by ngaiotonga at 3:08 PM on June 11 [2 favorites]
posted by ngaiotonga at 3:08 PM on June 11 [2 favorites]
Yes, I like my Australia very much free from rabies.
Disturbing fact about the introduced pests we do have is that (AFAIK) mostly they were brought here because the agricultural industry wanted them in various roles. Many of the invasive grasses, and cane toads, for some obvious examples.
All the several species of non-tree weeds currently invading my previously pristine native bush block were brought here to feed another introduced pest, cattle.
The Almighty Short-Term Profit Motive rules supreme.
posted by Pouteria at 12:50 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Disturbing fact about the introduced pests we do have is that (AFAIK) mostly they were brought here because the agricultural industry wanted them in various roles. Many of the invasive grasses, and cane toads, for some obvious examples.
All the several species of non-tree weeds currently invading my previously pristine native bush block were brought here to feed another introduced pest, cattle.
The Almighty Short-Term Profit Motive rules supreme.
posted by Pouteria at 12:50 AM on June 12 [1 favorite]
Incidentally, at several Australian airports they have adorable beagle sniffer dogs checking for stray apples or bananas in peoples luggage
They have these at most US points of entry as well.
The sniffer dogs also hang around domestic airports, because there are restrictions on carrying certain fruit across state borders, particularly bananas. My grandparents once sat at a road border between New South Wales and Queensland (back in the days when road borders between states were manned) and ate an entire box of fruit rather than hand it over.
I guess it's a testament to the effectiveness of Australia's biosecurity programs that those invasive, destructive plants and animals introduced here have generally been introduced through government agencies' ill-thought-out plans to solve one problem or another. Cane Toads being just the most well-known and obvious one, but far from the only one.
posted by dg at 10:50 PM on June 12
They have these at most US points of entry as well.
The sniffer dogs also hang around domestic airports, because there are restrictions on carrying certain fruit across state borders, particularly bananas. My grandparents once sat at a road border between New South Wales and Queensland (back in the days when road borders between states were manned) and ate an entire box of fruit rather than hand it over.
I guess it's a testament to the effectiveness of Australia's biosecurity programs that those invasive, destructive plants and animals introduced here have generally been introduced through government agencies' ill-thought-out plans to solve one problem or another. Cane Toads being just the most well-known and obvious one, but far from the only one.
posted by dg at 10:50 PM on June 12
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That seems entirely reasonable. When I was in Melbourne, a couple people explained what a big issue this was. I’d be incredibly frustrated if I was an Australian, especially when this dynamic really seems to only go in one direction. You don’t exactly see stories of Aussies attempting to smuggle cassowaries abroad.
posted by 1024 at 8:43 AM on June 10 [5 favorites]