Cat’s out of the bag as New Zealand foils Canadian pet smuggler
Woman comes clean when feline faces X-ray machine
WELLINGTON // A Canadian, who managed to hide her fouryear- old cat in her handbag during a flight across the Pacific Ocean, had her holiday cut short when border agents discovered the ruse at Auckland airport. The woman was refused entry and forced to catch the next flight home with her cat Bella after she tried to smuggle it across the border, said Craig Hughes, the ministry for primary industries spokesman, yesterday.
He called the woman’s actions “reckless and dangerous”.
New Zealand has strict regu- lations for importing pets. Cats and dogs from most approved countries must have an implanted microchip and be kept in quarantine for a minimum of 10 days after arrival. Mr Hughes said the woman and her husband, both in their mid to late 20s, managed to conceal the cat from the flight crew and other passengers during the 11,300-kilometre flight from Vancouver to Auckland.
“Apparently it was a very quiet cat. Very docile,” Mr Hughes said, adding that it may have been drugged to make it drowsy.
When the couple arrived at the airport, they said they had nothing to declare, but border agents determined they had muddy boots that needed inspecting. Agents then moved the couple’s bags to an X-ray machine. Mr Hughes said the woman was reluctant to have her handbag X-rayed and insisted it had been checked. She finally admitted there was a cat inside.
She said she had told a ticketing agent about Bella when she bought her ticket.
Mr Hughes said that even if the woman’s story were true, which he doubted, it was still unacceptable to take a cat across the border without declaring it.
He said foreign cats could bring with them ticks and diseases that are not present in New Zealand. The woman got upset about being sent back home, he said.
“She had plans to have a nice holiday with her husband in New Zealand,” Mr Hughes said. “And her cat.”
Muddy boots give couple away after concealing cat in handbag for 11,300km flight