KEY POINTS:
Tough questions, searches and delays will greet passengers arriving from London today, as biosecurity authorities rush to safeguard New Zealand against an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry staff confirmed to the Herald plans to target direct flights from London, in security measures that could even deprive travellers of their clothes.
In Britain, authorities are battling to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious disease in Surrey, near London.
The latest infection - linked to a research facility in the middle of the infected area - has farmers fearing a repeat of a 2001 outbreak that ultimately affected more than 10,000 premises, with nearly seven million animals culled.
In New Zealand MAF has beefed up its permanent biosecurity measures, which already include 100 per cent baggage x-ray and footwear checks.
Expanded measures include questioning of all passengers arriving from England.
"If they come from or have visited a rural area they will be questioned further and may have their personal luggage searched," communications manager Helen Keyes said.
Clothing, footwear and camping equipment would also be checked to ensure it is free of "biological risks".
Passengers' clothing could also be confiscated if it was carrying too much dirt, and would be dry-cleaned and returned, Ms Keyes said.
At ports, passengers would receive the same checks as people arriving in NZ through airports. Products such as bovine semen samples would be held until risk assessments were received from Britain.
The ministry was last night confident of its ability to keep the disease out.
Meat & Wool New Zealand chairman Mike Petersen said yesterday that the British scare was unlikely to benefit New Zealand's meat growers.
There was "no scope" to send more beef on top of the country's existing 1300-tonne quota, he said, and 78 per cent of the 227,000-tonne sheepmeat quota had already been "utilised".
THREAT TO NZ
* A 2005 Federated Farmers report warned that a limited foot-and-mouth outbreak in New Zealand could cost the country 20,000 jobs and wipe out $10 billion of economic activity over two years.
* The export sector could take up to four years to recover and severely damage New Zealand's reputation internationally.
