August 1, 2006

New Zealand's pig farmers want improved biosecurity 
 

New Zealand's pig farmers have urged the Government to improve biosecurity systems, both at the border and inside New Zealand as current systems are inadequate and pose serious threats to the economy, said Pork Industry Board chairman Chris Trengrove.

The fact that there were no convictions handed out when large quantities of illegal pork imports were discovered in April was disappointing, Trengrove said.

Biosecurity NZ announced in April that six tonnes of meat which came into New Zealand from South Korea between August and December 2005 contained raw pork.

The raw pork was discovered at Auckland during a routine surveillance by quarantine staff at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) who were looking for prohibited goods.