Passengers on an Air New Zealand plane were kept on board amid fears of a contagious virus.

An outspoken ecologist has been charged with possessing illegal trees - trees he insists don't exist.

One Kiwi traveller's decision to store his blood-soaked clothes from an exotic overseas trip landed him in hot-water with airport officials.

The discovery of a second Queensland fruit fly in Whangarei has been slammed as "unbelievable" as concerns are raised about New Zealand's biosecurity preparedness.

Biosecurity officials are investigating the discovery of a second male Queensland fruit fly caught in a surveillance trap in Whangarei.

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

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.

Two brothers have pleaded guilty at the Queenstown District Court to smuggling six live scorpions into New Zealand.

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.

Auckland Airport biosecurity staff have avoided a nasty nipping after finding five live crabs in a Vietnamese passenger's luggage.

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.