New Zealand granny fined US$1,995 for bringing chicken sandwich into Australia
New Zealand granny fined US$1,995 for bringing chicken sandwich into Australia
“Chicken meat poses a significant biosecurity risk to Australia, particularly the risk of highly pathogenic notifiable avian influenza (HPNAI) virus which can cause severe disease and mortality across Australia’s poultry industry, and may also affect wild bird populations.”
We do have a reputation for taking these things very seriously, as we should. We were even going to kill Johnny Depp's dogs at one point but settled for the "hostage video". Despite that, it does seem excessive in this case and should have been overturned on appeal at the very least.
Thankfully someone stepped up and ended up paying the fine on their behalf.
Great, then declare it and there shouldn't be any problem. Where the problem comes in is people not declaring it. If it's hidden somewhere in their luggage or on their person how is anyone supposed to know that?
Granted it is harsh in this case which I already said but customs has no interest in letting people skirt the rules just because.
We were even going to kill Johnny Depp’s dogs at one point but settled for the “hostage video”.
Let me guess, it's because he was rich and famous.
I think it was more about sending a message. In a way yes because he is famous, but in the way that they wanted to leverage that as a deterrence. It wasn't about "letting him off the hook". It was about using him as a platform to say to the world "we do not fuck around when it comes to this". If you've seen the hostage video you know what I mean 🤣
In Australia under a rightwing government? No, they wouldn’t have given a shit about that.
It was because he broke biosecurity laws. Something we take seriously here after witnessing how rabbits, foxes, and canetoads fucked up the environment.
We were even going to kill Johnny Depp's dogs at one point but settled for the "hostage video".
That was just Barnaby Joyce grandstanding and making a big deal out of 'we apply the rules to everyone, no matter if they're rich or famous'. No fucking way he would have ever laid hands on those dogs. The man was and still is a fucking embarrassment to politics and Australia.
Agreed and I made a similar point in a few of my other comments. If you look at the original context it was more of a "well you have to abide by the rules and the dogs should be quarantined but if you're not willing to do that then we would have no other option".
And what I got from other commenters is that their countries hate pieces of gum and shrivelled blackened oranges. It's not unique to Australia although as an island nation especially prone to biosecurity threats we do have a reputation for taking it more seriously. It's not a difficult thing to get caught with if you're paying any sort of attention. You can make mistakes and accidentally (or even purposefully) bring stuff in as long as you own up to it. There's signage everywhere explaining in words and pictures what is and is not allowed. The custom agents ask you. There's literally every chance to declare.
It's not as harsh as it sounds, it's only when you get caught that it becomes a big deal. It's like if you got pulled up by the cops. If you try and lie or simply don't even recognise that you were speeding you'll probably get a ticket. The analogy breaks down in the "admit fault" side of things because the cop can ticket you anyway, where under our biosecurity law you cannot be punished for declaring goods that would not be allowed in.
Do you have a passport? You shouldn’t visit Europe either - similar restrictions
What shitty article. No explanation of anything. Get this shit out of here.
ChatGPT at your service kind Sir.
Granny shoulda watched that show, "border security: Australia"
To make it worse, we have our own in New Zealand, which is the (worldwide) original of that format. The Aussie series is a spin-off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BorderPatrol(NewZealandTVseries)
Funny thing is, NZ is actually stricter on this issue than Australia.
That’s a chicken burger in the picture, love when there’s an article about aus/nz but using American nomenclature
It even converted to USD. But for real y'all call it a chicken burger?
Burger is ground meat and chicken sandwiches are often made of whole meat. Cheapo ones are mechanically separated which would count as ground, but the one in the photo is not.
The link didn't load for me, but this link has an interesting bit at the end-
"Meat has strict import conditions which can change quickly based on disease outbreaks," the spokesperson said, adding that passengers can be fined up to 6,260 Australian dollars, or around $4,100, for bringing unauthorized food items into the country.
It's not the first time a passenger has been fined for bringing an undeclared item through an Australian airport. In August, a passenger was fined $1,200 for walking with a rose at an airport in Australia. And in August last year, a passenger was fined $1,870 for packing McMuffin sandwiches on a flight from Bali to Australia.
@FlyingSquid @throwslemy Who the hell declares a sandwich????
Apparently someone who doesn't want Australia to fine them. The real question is why Australia doesn't let people know this before they enter the country when the TSA easily lets people know about all the things they can't bring on a plane with signs before they even go through a security checkpoint.
At the US Canada border crossing, if you don't declare a pack of gum or a candy bar for a inspection it can be used as an "issue"
I was warned of this a few years ago as they asked me if I wanted to declare anything before they started their random vehicle inspection.
One time I was driving my Gf's car and at some point a orange had rolled under her seat and had turned into a dried out black ball.
They let me off with a stiff warning that I was lucky since I didn't declare and they could tell it was an accident. They have to be concerned about the orange crops (in Florida I guess?) I was told. I was crossing in Washington State though.
"Don't risk it for a Bisquit"
Bisquick has ruined your spelling.
Got me, apologies on this, but it was nesquick
"Flightless" for a reason, grandma.
Same thing happened to me with a Tim Hortons bagel. Border guards with small dicks having a power trip. The best part? The question on the computer was "are you importing any xyz...". I was not importing it, I was eating it at the airport. Still had my Nexus taken.
I remember flying back from Spain one time and a young woman behind me in line to clear customs had two Spanish sausages, long ones, on top of her luggage. They were a no-no. Clearly, she did not give a fuck. Customs let her through.
That's dumb. I understand restrictions on uncooked meats, but what harm could a cooked chicken breast do? This is what happens when officials blindly enforce rules without understanding the purpose of the rule in the first place.
It's a genuine biosecurity risk in Australia. Australia (and NZ) are very susceptible to pathogens from outside so this kind of thing is taken very seriously in both countries.
A cooked chicken sandwich? And letting in people who've eaten the sandwiches isn't a biosecurity risk? Hmm. I'm questioning the genuineness of the concern.
You probably shouldn't let any people in then.
"Nope, don't worry about that. It's the chicken sandwiches that are the problem."
You should be thankful it's cooked.
If it's undercooked? Believe it or not, straight to jail.
Overcooked? Also jail.
Brah so we should test all chicken breast coming into the country to make sure it's cooked? Who the fuck is paying for that? Or maybe you just don't bring a fucking chicken burger on the plane..
It's a case of common sense. Obviously an accident, obviously cooked. Throw it in the trash and move on with life. You crazy black and white maniacs that think every rule has to be applied 100% in every case with no possibility of anything ever happening that maybe doesn't make sense or isn't the intention of the people who wrote the rule are like 50% of what's wrong with society.
If you can't tell the difference between raw chicken breast and a piece of fried chicken on sight, please don't ever work anywhere near the food industry.