Another way to report pests and diseases

There’s a new way to report suspected exotic pests and diseases online.

Biosecurity New Zealand has released a new tool that provides an alternative to the existing 0800 phone hotline and means you can report the unusual in the way that suits you best.

From the Biosecurity New Zealand website, you’re guided through the reporting process and can submit photos, location of finds and other information. Reports are then processed by the same team that handles phone hotline reports.

You’ll then receive a response from the investigation and specialist science team in a similar timeframe to the current 0800 phone reporting system - generally within 24 hours.

If you feel that you’re reporting any kind of urgent matter that worries you (things like mass mortalities of animals or animal diseases for example) the online form will ask you to instead ring the phone hotline on 0800 80 99 66 so that the case can be immediately triaged. Anyone from the kiwifruit industry unsure about making a report and whether or not it is urgent, can also contact the KVH office at [email protected] or 0800 665 825 for advice.

The most important thing, regardless of how you choose to make a report, is to do so as soon as you suspect you’ve found something of concern. All reports are valuable and the earlier they are, the more action can be taken to limit impacts.

The new reporting tool can be found on the Biosecurity New Zealand website here.