i have been thru NZ customs many times. if you tell them the truth and even on times make fool of yourself declaring things that are permitted they are thankful you had the honesty to report it. case in point i had bottles of hot sauce from the USA which had been manufactured and bottled commercially. i declared it and it wasnt an issue at all as it was still all sealed up, as i went through the line i heard nothing to declare and turned around to see plastic shopping bags full of weird food items being unpacked.customs/bio-security will not mind if you declare something that is 100% OK to bring into NZ. its better to waste their time for 30 seconds than to bring something in that could wreck our economy
I usually find this to be a classic case of double standards: when its people getting nailed for a $400 fine at the airport its unfair and revenue gathering. But when MPI have to step in and do major damage to an industry to control something that shouldnt be here its their fault it got in. I mean I dont know how myrtle rust, m. bovis, the mites etc got into NZ but given the amount of damage bio-security mistakes can cause I dont think we can suddenly claim airport fines are unfair.
Coming back into nz after a sydney trip, we were accosted by a friendly dog, only to be asked about fruit, being searched etc. Nothing found. It wasnt until later that we remembered we had stored a piece of banana bread (in a paper bag) in the pocket of of the bag a day or so earlier. Those dogs are good.
I really feel that the phrase absent-minded banana smuggle is not used enough in daily conversation.
I once passed an irate lady who had been stopped by the dog handler, the dog was doing its thing whilst she was loudly protesting âI dont want that dogs head in my bag, Ive got food in there!â It was really hard to keep a straight face.
Pathogens [ pests and diseases ] will not differentiate according to your intention . Have you any idea how much varroha has cost the beekeepers and PSA has cost the kiwifruit industry ?
well done to dog
It is not the banana what costed you 400, it was your lack of concentration to answer a simple question, or your lack of memory, too many people dont take these risks seriously, mostly out of ignorance, but well done NZ for being tight and strong with this.
You will be careful next time and wont make that mistake again, therefore the works. The thing is that diseases and pests dont know if its a mistake or not
I actually have a lot of sympathy for people who accidentally forget a piece of fruit they had in their bag. You can see its a genuine mistake. What makes my blood boil is when I see people on boarder security with a suitcase of food and they said no food or who have deliberately hidden seeds and then they claim they dont speak English (the form is in their language) and they get let off. Fine every single person who deliberately tries to break the law but a clear oversight like this they should get away with a warning.
Sometimes I think it is quicker to have something potentially declarable and go through there, rather than be in the nothing to declare queues. As you say, they seem to be happy that youre concerned about something being a potential problem, rather than try and sneak it through
$600 is a good deterrent too.
I love intelligent trained dogs, they have a 1000 times sense of smell than us humans so be warned.
Your allowed muesli bars. You just tick yes & say what you have eg chocolate. Not allowed fresh stuff like fruit & vege
This is different in that whether by accident or on purpose you could cripple one of our main industries. You sign a declaration which advises of the penalties, and have plenty of opportunities to recheck and discard. Yes some people just forget, but I guarantee he wont forget again.
I once had an apple confiscated going to Fiji. No fine, just lost an apple. Just as well it wasnt NZ! I totally agree with bio-security check of all incoming NZ passengers. The signs are prominent, just dont forget what you are carrying, innocent or not!
I got pulled for having a plum in my bag and justifiably fined,they missed the fifteen kilos of cocaine so reasonable outcome at the end of the day !
Spent a month in New Delhi walking around streets choked with cars, bikes and cows. When entering NZ I felt I had to declare I had been on a farm as the sacred cows and their droppings must surely present a very high risk of cattle diseases getting across our border. NZ Agriculture took me seriously and sprayed all footware but it leaves me wondering why all passengers from cow worshipping countries are not regarded as having been in contact with farm animals.
Back in 1961 I was on a british army charter from New Orleans to New York, as we were travelling interstate we were required to declare any fruit in our possession to the cabin crew.We bemused them by singing a chorus of Yes, we have no bananas.......
it has nothing to do with the airlines. The traveller needs to take personal responsibility. Bus drivers dont tell the traveller to look both ways when they cross the road either!
i have been thru NZ customs many times. if you tell them the truth and even on times make fool of yourself declaring things that are permitted they are thankful you had the honesty to report it. case in point i had bottles of hot sauce from the USA which had been manufactured and bottled commercially. i declared it and it wasnt an issue at all as it was still all sealed up, as i went through the line i heard nothing to declare and turned around to see plastic shopping bags full of weird food items being unpacked.customs/bio-security will not mind if you declare something that is 100% OK to bring into NZ. its better to waste their time for 30 seconds than to bring something in that could wreck our economy
I usually find this to be a classic case of double standards: when its people getting nailed for a $400 fine at the airport its unfair and revenue gathering. But when MPI have to step in and do major damage to an industry to control something that shouldnt be here its their fault it got in. I mean I dont know how myrtle rust, m. bovis, the mites etc got into NZ but given the amount of damage bio-security mistakes can cause I dont think we can suddenly claim airport fines are unfair.
Coming back into nz after a sydney trip, we were accosted by a friendly dog, only to be asked about fruit, being searched etc. Nothing found. It wasnt until later that we remembered we had stored a piece of banana bread (in a paper bag) in the pocket of of the bag a day or so earlier. Those dogs are good.
I really feel that the phrase absent-minded banana smuggle is not used enough in daily conversation.
I once passed an irate lady who had been stopped by the dog handler, the dog was doing its thing whilst she was loudly protesting âI dont want that dogs head in my bag, Ive got food in there!â It was really hard to keep a straight face.
Pathogens [ pests and diseases ] will not differentiate according to your intention . Have you any idea how much varroha has cost the beekeepers and PSA has cost the kiwifruit industry ?
well done to dog
It is not the banana what costed you 400, it was your lack of concentration to answer a simple question, or your lack of memory, too many people dont take these risks seriously, mostly out of ignorance, but well done NZ for being tight and strong with this.
You will be careful next time and wont make that mistake again, therefore the works. The thing is that diseases and pests dont know if its a mistake or not
I actually have a lot of sympathy for people who accidentally forget a piece of fruit they had in their bag. You can see its a genuine mistake. What makes my blood boil is when I see people on boarder security with a suitcase of food and they said no food or who have deliberately hidden seeds and then they claim they dont speak English (the form is in their language) and they get let off. Fine every single person who deliberately tries to break the law but a clear oversight like this they should get away with a warning.
Sometimes I think it is quicker to have something potentially declarable and go through there, rather than be in the nothing to declare queues. As you say, they seem to be happy that youre concerned about something being a potential problem, rather than try and sneak it through
$600 is a good deterrent too.
I love intelligent trained dogs, they have a 1000 times sense of smell than us humans so be warned.
Your allowed muesli bars. You just tick yes & say what you have eg chocolate. Not allowed fresh stuff like fruit & vege
This is different in that whether by accident or on purpose you could cripple one of our main industries. You sign a declaration which advises of the penalties, and have plenty of opportunities to recheck and discard. Yes some people just forget, but I guarantee he wont forget again.
I once had an apple confiscated going to Fiji. No fine, just lost an apple. Just as well it wasnt NZ! I totally agree with bio-security check of all incoming NZ passengers. The signs are prominent, just dont forget what you are carrying, innocent or not!
I got pulled for having a plum in my bag and justifiably fined,they missed the fifteen kilos of cocaine so reasonable outcome at the end of the day !
Spent a month in New Delhi walking around streets choked with cars, bikes and cows. When entering NZ I felt I had to declare I had been on a farm as the sacred cows and their droppings must surely present a very high risk of cattle diseases getting across our border. NZ Agriculture took me seriously and sprayed all footware but it leaves me wondering why all passengers from cow worshipping countries are not regarded as having been in contact with farm animals.
Back in 1961 I was on a british army charter from New Orleans to New York, as we were travelling interstate we were required to declare any fruit in our possession to the cabin crew.We bemused them by singing a chorus of Yes, we have no bananas.......
it has nothing to do with the airlines. The traveller needs to take personal responsibility. Bus drivers dont tell the traveller to look both ways when they cross the road either!