Imagine opening a new appliance or piece of furniture you’ve just bought from overseas to discover a cluster of insect eggs inside the packaging. Thinking little of it, you throw the packaging away.
You could have just helped an incursion of an unwanted pest that could end up costing Australian farmers and our food industry billions of dollars.
We don’t mean to sound alarmist, but we have to emphasise that our island nation is vulnerable to all sorts of exotic pests that can “hitchhike” in on cargo and goods. These hitchhiker pests can hide in shipping containers, cardboard boxes and other sorts of packaging, and inside the imported goods themselves.
Pests including insects, snails, amphibians, snakes and more have the potential to establish themselves, multiply out of control, and decimate our crops and make our animals sick. Even human health is at risk from many of these pests.
Year on year we’re intercepting a higher volume of biosecurity risks as cargo and mail coming to Australia increases. We do everything we can at our border, but we’re asking for the help of everyone involved in bringing goods into Australia – from the importing businesses down to the everyday consumer opening a box in their own home.
If you receive goods from overseas and see anything like eggs, droppings, skins, nests, holes where pests might have chewed through packaging, or the pests themselves, then call the See. Secure. Report hotline immediately on 1800 798 636.
You can find out much more about hitchhiker pests on our website.
