Australia regularly makes global headlines for its strict biosecurity rules for international travellers.
Failing to declare food, animal products and plant material – from an apple, to forgotten McMuffins or plant cuttings – can result in fines of up to A$6,600, potential prosecution and cancellations of visitor visas.
There are good reasons for those rules: Australia has managed to keep its environment and agriculture free of many invasive pests and diseases. Yet the volume of goods coming into Australia makes it hard to catch everything, especially biosecurity threats coming in on ships.
