Airport biosecurity arrangements a disgrace

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 6th Mar 2003

'Arrangements to prevent the illegal import of animal and plant material at our airports are a disgrace' said Totnes Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson, Mike Treleaven, today. 'I have recently returned from a trip to Australia, New Zealand and America. At every port of entry we had to sign a declaration that we were not bringing in anything of animal or plant origin and the situation was fully explained to us by the cabin crew. Customs officials were much in evidence and sniffer dogs abounded. Everywhere there were signs reminding you of the large penalties for not complying with the regulations.' He continued

'In contrast, on arriving back at Heathrow, we were not asked to sign any customs declaration, no sniffer dogs and not a customs officer in sight. The only concession that seems to have been made in the last year, when we had the same experience, is the erection of a couple of new signs explaining the rules. Other countries understand the risks involved in importing animal and plant material and take effective steps to prevent it. Our government seems to pay lip service to the problem despite having experienced the ravages of Foot and Mouth just 2 short years ago for which farmers in the South Hams are still paying the price. Farmers are asked to enforce strict biosecurity rules but we do little or nothing to prevent disease coming in through our airports. When will the government wake up!