NEW ZEALAND: Scorpions terrorise Hawke's Bay wineries
By David Robertson | 10 July 2000
Arach-attack! Pest-free New Zealand is reeling from an invasion of scorpions that arrived in a shipment of wine bottles from Portugal.Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries agents swept on four Hawke's Bay wineries after the invasion was reported.Wielding spray equipment and high-tech protective clothing the government men have been combing the area for the scorpions.But so far none have been found despite a packer at one of the wineries saying he saw lots of the little blighters in the packing crates.New Zealand has no dangerous animals or insects, unlike neighbouring Australia. Customs officials go to enormous efforts to keep out unwanted pests and bugs.Kiwis joke that it is easier to smuggle cocaine into the country than an apple.But the wineries involved, which have not been named by officials, faced considerable disruption last week as the insecticide was sprayed. Scientists believe that the scorpions, even if they survived the spray, will not last the southern-hemisphere winter.
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Arach-attack! Pest-free New Zealand is reeling from an invasion of scorpions that arrived in a shipment of wine bottles from Portugal.Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries agents swept on four Hawke's Bay wineries after the invasion was reported.Wielding spray equipment and high-tech protective clothing the government men have been combing the area for the scorpions.But so far none have been found despite a packer at one of the wineries saying he saw lots of the little blighters in the packing crates.New Zealand has no dangerous animals or insects, unlike neighbouring Australia. Customs officials go to enormous efforts to keep out unwanted pests and bugs.Kiwis joke that it is easier to smuggle cocaine into the country than an apple.But the wineries involved, which have not been named by officials, faced considerable disruption last week as the insecticide was sprayed. Scientists believe that the scorpions, even if they survived the spray, will not last the southern-hemisphere winter.
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