A Canadian woman tried to smuggle this cat into New Zealand. Picture: Facebook
KIWI border officials have sent a Canadian woman packing, after she tried to smuggle a furry friend into the country in her hand luggage.
At the end of the 14-hour flight from Vancouver to Auckland, she declared dirty boots to customs officers while the moggy hid quietly in her bag.
Unsurprisingly, she was very reluctant to hand her items over be X-rayed, telling quarantine officials the luggage had “already been checked”.
“She only revealed the cat after we insisted the bag will have to undergo further biosecurity checks,” Craig Hughes, from New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries, said in a statement.
“We believe this was a deliberate and very stupid attempt at smuggling. There are strict biosecurity rules in place to stop imported cats and dogs from introducing pests and diseases into New Zealand. The passenger clearly decided those rules didn’t apply to her.”
She was forced to return on the first available flight back to Canada.
It’s not the first time Canadian pets have been found hiding in baggage.
This gecko went missing in luggage on a flight in August.Source:Supplied
Earlier this year, a woman lost her 11-month-old gecko, Nom Chompsky, on a flight from Toronto to Vancouver.
Meryl Bishop planned to take the 10-centimetre lizard on board as carry-on, but airline policy dictate the tiny reptile be shipped in the cargo hold.
However, while Nom was correctly loaded in the plane, she was never taken off.
Ms Bishop was reunited with her pet 48 hours later after the airline issued a nationwide alert and searched all their ramps and warehouses.