“Chicken meat poses a significant biosecurity risk to Australia, particularly the risk of highly pathogenic notifiable avian influenza (HPNAI) virus which can cause severe disease and mortality across Australia’s poultry industry, and may also affect wild bird populations.”
We do have a reputation for taking these things very seriously, as we should. We were even going to kill Johnny Depp’s dogs at one point but settled for the “hostage video”. Despite that, it does seem excessive in this case and should have been overturned on appeal at the very least.
Thankfully someone stepped up and ended up paying the fine on their behalf.
Great, then declare it and there shouldn’t be any problem. Where the problem comes in is people not declaring it. If it’s hidden somewhere in their luggage or on their person how is anyone supposed to know that?
Granted it is harsh in this case which I already said but customs has no interest in letting people skirt the rules just because.
Never been in an aussie airport so I’ll take your word for it. Still though having to declare a sandwich is beyond absurd. I get the reasoning for raw foodstuffs but a cooked chicken sandwich isn’t carrying anything that granny couldn’t also just be carrying in her body.
You might find it absurd, but it is quite common. The same rules about cooked food now apply, for example when travelling from the UK to France - that sandwich could have been seized when travelling into Europe - there were some travellers who were caught out travelling to France following Brexit. https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/animal-products-movements/personal-imports_en
And you are told in a dozen languages even before stepping out of the plane. But everyone in this thread who’s never crossed a border think you can just go to other countries and do the fuck you want because they know better
Perhaps anyone listening to the plane announcements, looks at any one of the multitude of signs on arrival, or anyone (everyone) who fills out the incoming passenger card? It’s not at all unclear what you have to do when you’re there. They make it clear to declare everything at multiple points. There is no penalty for declaring something even if it’s not allowed in.
On the first side of the incoming passenger card, half of it is taken up by the question:
They found it after they went through her backpack.
Extra info: if you declare everything, even if it’s something that’s definitely not allowed, you will not get into any trouble. I’m talking about food and stuff not drugs or guns. They just don’t want people to not be declaring things that then slip through without inspection. That’s why there’s a heavy fine if they have to “catch” you. A lot of things are okay’d to be brought in after inspection.
They do “random searches” just like any other country but I find it more likely in this situation that they saw something on the scanner which prompted them to search the bag. Even if you compare the process to the USA it’s pretty much identical. You still have to declare everything except the USA has even steeper fines than Australia.
Random searches are a standard part of going through the green channel in most countries. There are also sniffer dogs. Several years ago I watched a lady get stopped because a softer dog had detected an apple in a Tupperware box in her luggage.
I think it was more about sending a message. In a way yes because he is famous, but in the way that they wanted to leverage that as a deterrence. It wasn’t about “letting him off the hook”. It was about using him as a platform to say to the world “we do not fuck around when it comes to this”. If you’ve seen the hostage video you know what I mean 🤣
I can see how this might be a win-win for both parties. Yeah, JDepp gets off cause of his fame. But the AU government also gets to use that fame to send a message to everyone else.
They were never really going to kill the dogs. The full context was along the lines of “well you can do the right thing, or we will have no choice but to…”. I’m not aware of any cases where they’ve actually euthanised a pet, famous or no. It’s an absolute last resort as they would rather just quarantine them. But yeah, pretty funny and a win for the government.
In Australia under a rightwing government? No, they wouldn’t have given a shit about that.
It was because he broke biosecurity laws. Something we take seriously here after witnessing how rabbits, foxes, and canetoads fucked up the environment.
We were even going to kill Johnny Depp’s dogs at one point but settled for the “hostage video”.
That was just Barnaby Joyce grandstanding and making a big deal out of ‘we apply the rules to everyone, no matter if they’re rich or famous’. No fucking way he would have ever laid hands on those dogs. The man was and still is a fucking embarrassment to politics and Australia.
Agreed and I made a similar point in a few of my other comments. If you look at the original context it was more of a “well you have to abide by the rules and the dogs should be quarantined but if you’re not willing to do that then we would have no other option”.
And what I got from other commenters is that their countries hate pieces of gum and shrivelled blackened oranges. It’s not unique to Australia although as an island nation especially prone to biosecurity threats we do have a reputation for taking it more seriously. It’s not a difficult thing to get caught with if you’re paying any sort of attention. You can make mistakes and accidentally (or even purposefully) bring stuff in as long as you own up to it. There’s signage everywhere explaining in words and pictures what is and is not allowed. The custom agents ask you. There’s literally every chance to declare.
It’s not as harsh as it sounds, it’s only when you get caught that it becomes a big deal. It’s like if you got pulled up by the cops. If you try and lie or simply don’t even recognise that you were speeding you’ll probably get a ticket. The analogy breaks down in the “admit fault” side of things because the cop can ticket you anyway, where under our biosecurity law you cannot be punished for declaring goods that would not be allowed in.
Yep no meat no dairy. Which also applies to the UK, yet another Brexit dividend.
The chance that any random sandwich carries something nasty is small, but there’s two other factors: a) If it does carry something nasty, the implications are huge and, certainly not least, b) you don’t need to bring a sandwich. Noone needs to bring a sandwich. Get one once you arrive. And if you just can’t stand airline food then be vegan for a couple of hours it won’t kill you. Live solely off chocolate during your flight if you want.
We do have a reputation for taking these things very seriously, as we should. We were even going to kill Johnny Depp’s dogs at one point but settled for the “hostage video”. Despite that, it does seem excessive in this case and should have been overturned on appeal at the very least.
Thankfully someone stepped up and ended up paying the fine on their behalf.
Removed by mod
Great, then declare it and there shouldn’t be any problem. Where the problem comes in is people not declaring it. If it’s hidden somewhere in their luggage or on their person how is anyone supposed to know that?
Granted it is harsh in this case which I already said but customs has no interest in letting people skirt the rules just because.
Who in their right mind would think they need to declare a sandwich?
The people who see the massive signs all the way through the arrival hall with pictures of stuff like sandwiches. Seriously, you can’t miss them
Never been in an aussie airport so I’ll take your word for it. Still though having to declare a sandwich is beyond absurd. I get the reasoning for raw foodstuffs but a cooked chicken sandwich isn’t carrying anything that granny couldn’t also just be carrying in her body.
You might find it absurd, but it is quite common. The same rules about cooked food now apply, for example when travelling from the UK to France - that sandwich could have been seized when travelling into Europe - there were some travellers who were caught out travelling to France following Brexit. https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/animal-products-movements/personal-imports_en
And the same in the US except with ever larger fines than AU https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/agricultural-items
The US only cares about uncooked food: meat, fruit, etc. I’ve personally declared Reese’s peanut butter cups, as a joke. They look at you like this:
And you are told in a dozen languages even before stepping out of the plane. But everyone in this thread who’s never crossed a border think you can just go to other countries and do the fuck you want because they know better
Perhaps anyone listening to the plane announcements, looks at any one of the multitude of signs on arrival, or anyone (everyone) who fills out the incoming passenger card? It’s not at all unclear what you have to do when you’re there. They make it clear to declare everything at multiple points. There is no penalty for declaring something even if it’s not allowed in.
On the first side of the incoming passenger card, half of it is taken up by the question:
The tourists are all made of raw meat!
And the same applies! You have to be declared. If you try and smuggle a human in there’s probably steep fines associated if you’re caught.
Don’t forget to declare your half-eaten bag of airplane peanuts as well.
You can either declare them or put them in the bio security bins in arrivals.
Don’t forget to declare any stuff that might get trapped on your shoes. Iirc people have been jailed for having “marijuana traces” on them.
EDIT: not sure why people are voting down but this actually happened: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18842015
Real talk, how did they find it if she didn’t ‘declare’ it?
They found it after they went through her backpack.
Extra info: if you declare everything, even if it’s something that’s definitely not allowed, you will not get into any trouble. I’m talking about food and stuff not drugs or guns. They just don’t want people to not be declaring things that then slip through without inspection. That’s why there’s a heavy fine if they have to “catch” you. A lot of things are okay’d to be brought in after inspection.
How’d they find it in her backpack?
Do they just search people’s luggage in addition to having them ‘declare’ things?
They do “random searches” just like any other country but I find it more likely in this situation that they saw something on the scanner which prompted them to search the bag. Even if you compare the process to the USA it’s pretty much identical. You still have to declare everything except the USA has even steeper fines than Australia.
Random searches are a standard part of going through the green channel in most countries. There are also sniffer dogs. Several years ago I watched a lady get stopped because a softer dog had detected an apple in a Tupperware box in her luggage.
Everyone is searched going through customs. There are also dogs trained to sniff out everything.
I hope the dog got to eat the sandwich.
Let me guess, it’s because he was rich and famous.
I think it was more about sending a message. In a way yes because he is famous, but in the way that they wanted to leverage that as a deterrence. It wasn’t about “letting him off the hook”. It was about using him as a platform to say to the world “we do not fuck around when it comes to this”. If you’ve seen the hostage video you know what I mean 🤣
I have not seen this hostage video.
Is it easy to find?
Here’s a short news story about it with some additional context https://youtu.be/4a7ExWd698w
Here’s the original clip https://youtu.be/Q2BDtdkyxFk
If you search Johnny Depp hostage video you will find it. We don’t talk about she who must not be named.
Thank you!
I can see how this might be a win-win for both parties. Yeah, JDepp gets off cause of his fame. But the AU government also gets to use that fame to send a message to everyone else.
They were never really going to kill the dogs. The full context was along the lines of “well you can do the right thing, or we will have no choice but to…”. I’m not aware of any cases where they’ve actually euthanised a pet, famous or no. It’s an absolute last resort as they would rather just quarantine them. But yeah, pretty funny and a win for the government.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/4a7ExWd698w
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
In Australia under a rightwing government? No, they wouldn’t have given a shit about that.
It was because he broke biosecurity laws. Something we take seriously here after witnessing how rabbits, foxes, and canetoads fucked up the environment.
That was just Barnaby Joyce grandstanding and making a big deal out of ‘we apply the rules to everyone, no matter if they’re rich or famous’. No fucking way he would have ever laid hands on those dogs. The man was and still is a fucking embarrassment to politics and Australia.
Agreed and I made a similar point in a few of my other comments. If you look at the original context it was more of a “well you have to abide by the rules and the dogs should be quarantined but if you’re not willing to do that then we would have no other option”.
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And what I got from other commenters is that their countries hate pieces of gum and shrivelled blackened oranges. It’s not unique to Australia although as an island nation especially prone to biosecurity threats we do have a reputation for taking it more seriously. It’s not a difficult thing to get caught with if you’re paying any sort of attention. You can make mistakes and accidentally (or even purposefully) bring stuff in as long as you own up to it. There’s signage everywhere explaining in words and pictures what is and is not allowed. The custom agents ask you. There’s literally every chance to declare.
It’s not as harsh as it sounds, it’s only when you get caught that it becomes a big deal. It’s like if you got pulled up by the cops. If you try and lie or simply don’t even recognise that you were speeding you’ll probably get a ticket. The analogy breaks down in the “admit fault” side of things because the cop can ticket you anyway, where under our biosecurity law you cannot be punished for declaring goods that would not be allowed in.
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The very next sentence says:
Do you have a passport? You shouldn’t visit Europe either - similar restrictions
Yep no meat no dairy. Which also applies to the UK, yet another Brexit dividend.
The chance that any random sandwich carries something nasty is small, but there’s two other factors: a) If it does carry something nasty, the implications are huge and, certainly not least, b) you don’t need to bring a sandwich. Noone needs to bring a sandwich. Get one once you arrive. And if you just can’t stand airline food then be vegan for a couple of hours it won’t kill you. Live solely off chocolate during your flight if you want.