It’s in the mail – and may be alive

Deer antlers with blood, imitation grenades and birthday cakes – they are just some of the strangest items New Zealanders have attempted to send by post this year.

Goldfish and mexican walking fish also top NZ Post’s list of prohibited items people have tried to get through the country’s postal service.

NZ Post northern customer service general manager Brendon Main said most customers knew which items could and couldn’t go through the post.

Items that are banned from being sent by post or courier include ammunition and weapons, magnets, perfume and nail polish.

Other strange items that are allowed include live organisms such as bees, live leeches, silkworms and other ‘‘harmless insects’’. These must be enclosed in strong, protective containers which allow the contents to be easily viewed and allow sufficient air to circulate.

Spring is NZ Post’s busiest time for transporting bees as people prepare hives for the honey season.

Anecdotally, Northland was the ‘‘bee capital’’ of New Zealand, Main said.

‘‘Typically during this time we send around 100 queen bees and their escorts a day from various addresses in Northland around the country. Even though places like Nelson and Blenheim are sending some, it’s nothing like Northland.’’

Kerikeri Pollination director Graham Wilson said his company used to send up to 500 queens a week to an exporter in the Bay of Plenty. Each queen was packaged up in a small container with seven to 10 ‘‘attendance bees’’ who looked after her and fed her.

Maria and Robert Lupton have been using NZ Post to send medicinal leeches to plastic surgery units throughout New Zealand for 29 years.

The Luptons, who own a breeding facility in the Waikato, send up to 300 leeches at a time via overnight or express courier.

The worm-like animals are used for reconstruction surgery or reattachment of body parts, like fingers, lips and ears; ‘‘anything where the blood flow needs to be restored’’, Maria Lupton said. They are packaged in a plastic jar inside a polystyrene box with moisture pads and taped shut – there have never been any escapees. ‘‘It took a wee battle with NZ Post at first,’’ she said.

‘‘They said: we don’t carry livestock but we told them it was for urgent medical supplies and they said that’s OK.

‘‘They are confident in our packaging, they’ve got no issues with them [the leeches].’’

Items that have been allowed to go via post under special circumstances include two lions – half brothers Malik and Zulu – that were transported by a NZ Post cargo plane in August.

Their journey consisted of a drive from Wellington Zoo to Palmerston North airport, then a flight to Auckland.

Main reminds people to check their website if they are unsure about what is acceptable to post.

‘‘Ammo, weapons, magnets, or anything flammable in nature, we’re trying to avoid in the network. While these items in isolation may pose little risk, it is the cumulative effect which could potentially cause difficulties, such as magnets with aircraft equipment and our own machinery, and perfume and nail polish which may be flammable.’’

Strange items that are allowed on the postal network include live organisms such as bees, live leeches, silkworms.