Why does New Zealand have so strict customs?
Day 121 / 365
Getting through customs and immigration in most countries is a time-consuming task that requires a lot of patience. But in some countries, it’s tougher than others. I recently came to know that New Zealand is one such country. I was watching an old video about the Indian cricket reaching New Zealand and the process they had to go through to get through customs. It involved the airport staff washing all their sporting equipment and literally scraping the dirt out of their sports shoes. This seemed a little bit excessive to me, but when I looked into it I got to know why it’s absolutely necessary.
Biosecurity in New Zealand
New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It has been cut off from the rest of the world for a long time, and that’s the reason that it has developed quite a distinct set of plants and animal species.
Unfortunately, his seclusion also means that these plants and animals have never been exposed to a lot of the diseases and pests that are common in the rest of the world. If such a foreign object is accidentally introduced in this environment, it would mean bad news for the plants and wildlife. This is why New Zealand has to have a very strict biosecurity system in place to stop people from bringing in such foreign objects.
What you need to declare
When you arrive at the customs in New Zealand you would need to declare stuff like food items (to the smallest ingredients), animal products like shells feathers, or any used equipment like sportswear. You can find a complete list of items here.
This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here
Yesterday’s blog — What is Pain?