Biosecurity

The invasive weed velvetleaf has been found on more farms in Waikato, prompting the Waikato Regional Council to ramp up its local response.

Curtains of bubbles have been proven successful in preventing marine pests from gaining a foothold, a Nelson scientist says.

It cost the government more than $1 million per insect to eradicate the Queensland fruit fly, a potentially devastating pest species, from Auckland.

Teams of biosecurity staff in Southland have been out each day over Easter trying to locate outbreaks of devastating pest plant velvetleaf.

Biosecurity officials at Auckland Airport have found mosquito larvae of the type that can carry Zika.

Biosecurity staff have a new tool to catch destructive pests and diseases - a mobile X-ray machine.

The Ministry for Primary Industries has given the all-clear to a dirt-like substance found in an imported lamp base by a Kerikeri man.

A Kerikeri man is challenging Customs to explain why foreign soil was able to slip into the country in lamp bases filled with dirt to weigh them down. Audio

Arable farmers in Canterbury are being advised to keep an eye out for a wheat disease, tan spot, after recent discoveries across the region.

A kiwfruit orchard in Whangarei has tested positive for Psa - the first confirmed case of the vine-killing disease in the region.

Spring is in the air and the Ministry for Primary Industries says it is on high alert for any amorous Queensland fruit flies that have survived the winter.

The prosecution of a man who tried to import 68 birds' nests from Malaysia has been welcomed by the country's poultry industry.

A North Shore man has been fined $15,000 for trying to illegally import a Chinese delicacy deemed a threat to New Zealand's poultry industry and native birds.

Johnny Depp's wife Amber Heard has been charged with breaching biosecurity rules by bringing two dogs into Australia on the actor's private jet.