A box from South Africa containing animal skulls crawling with maggots has been stopped at the border by biosecurity staff.

A pack of dogs has been brought from Australia to become new biosecurity detector animals at New Zealand airports.

The discovery of a male Queensland fruit fly in Whangarei has sparked a major biosecurity alert. Up to 50 Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) staff were in the city.

When some workers were battling the back-to-work blues after a summer holiday, biosecurity sniffer dog Zeta was tugging at the reins to get back on the job.

Surprised border officials have intercepted a live Christmas tree, complete with pot of soil, sent by post from the UK.

An Australian man who smuggled live scorpions into the country has been fined more than $10,000.

An Australian man who smuggled live scorpions into the country will be sentenced today.

Two brothers were yesterday sentenced to 150 hours' community work and two months' community detention after previously admitting charges relating to the possession, sale and disposition of scorpions.

Pamela Wade reminds us what to do when an illegal hitch-hiker comes home with us from an overseas trip.

A Vietnamese air passenger has been charged with smuggling live tropical fish in his trouser pockets after airport staff noticed water dripping down the man's leg.

A prominent agricultural scientist says New Zealand deserves only a half-mark for its biosecurity efforts - and warns that new free-trade agreements and increased tourism could pose a threat at the border.

A world-first trial involving Air New Zealand flights aims to boost biosecurity at the border.

Queenstown, even with its ice and snow, has proved irresistible for at least one Australian import spotted during the seasonal surge of non-native visitors arriving in the resort.

Each year more and more imported pork makes its way into the food chain - writes Dita De Boni - mostly through our consumption of cheap processed meat such as luncheon sausage and cheerios.

The area dedicated to marine reserves has grown by half, with five new reserves for the West Coast.

The planned release of vast numbers of imported dung beetles could spread nasty gut diseases, Auckland's top public health doctor has warned.

At a secret location just north of Auckland, an experiment has started which might alter the face of New Zealand's $12 billion dairy industry.

An attempt by an airline passenger to bring two crates of fresh mangoes into NZ could have had dire consequences if the fruit reached our orchards, says border security.

A snake which made its way into New Zealand from Vanuatu has been intercepted at a Manukau scrap yard.

They may be fluffy and cute but Western Bay residents are being warned wallabies are not pets.

Kiwifruit growers are hoping the vine-killing disease Psa will soon be declared an "adverse event".