But seeds cast a whole other dimension onto this problem... It is not a problem if they send you a cheap plastic bracelet but seeds can have unforseen consequences
Though optimistically, perhaps the worst and most destructive invasive threats have already arrived?
Apparently however small innocuous packets/letters don't receive quite as much screening, as I've heard of people getting marijuana seeds in the mail just fine.
It's far more difficult than drug smuggling which only works in some reasonable quantity - and becomes more like information smuggling in biological form where you only need one copy.
"The precedent-setting agreement classifies a spacecraft as an export. Once launched, satellite components were judged to be “severed from the possibility of trade within the United States” and therefore considered to be exports, according to Customs officials."
If you are interested in bird conservation in NZ, please visit Karori park in Wellington and contribute.
BTW: some parks in US also have installed brushes to wipe your boots for preventing the transmission of invasive species seeds. I think there are a few in Wisconsin that I remember.
I spent 5$ on these a while back with some friends, about 50% never arrived and the other 50% didn't sprout. Could be my bad though.
Starting in the 1700's with botanists traveling the world to collect and disseminate them. Which gave us modern corn, wheat, flowering plants, grasses, succulents and nearly everything we grow, harvest and appreciate today. May be a little late to start being concerned about this.
Not inevitable at all. Try arriving in Australia with a piece of fruit in your hand luggage, or try arriving in New Zealand with mud on your walking boots, and see what happens.
The seeds arrived months later, well after planting season, from Kazakhstan. The customs declaration called them plastic beads, but they were definitely seeds. I destroyed them, because I couldn't know for sure they really were what they said they were - seems unlikely a niche regional American plant would be available in Kazakhstan.
Would Australia really be able to stop these cases where they lie on the customs form?
Maybe a little too soon to just give up completely?