Dogs to sniff out biosecurity threats over festive period

The Christmas period is the busiest time for travel and parcel deliveries and detector dogs will be on duty to sniff out potential risk items at the Perth Domestic Airport, freight yards and mail centres across the metropolitan area.

Some of the prohibited items include fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, seeds, plants, flowers and walnuts in the shell which can carry unwanted pests, diseases and weeds.

WA Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis said early detection was critical to being able to contain and eradicate the threat to protect the $11 billion agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries industries and the environment.

She said the WA quarantine team, with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, was vital to that defence - carrying out inspections at the key air, road, rail, mail and sea entry points.

"If you are planning to visit WA this Christmas or ordering presents for family and friends, make sure you check the quarantine import requirements first so you don't unknowingly include gifts that could be carrying unwanted pests and diseases," Ms Jarvis said.

"It is also vital for people returning to WA from overseas this holiday period to make sure they are following the national quarantine requirements to ensure diseases such as foot and mouth are not brought back in with them."

Quarantine inspections doubled in the 2022-23 financial year as interstate travel resumed following the removal of COVID restrictions.

More than 1.4 million inspections were carried out across air, road, rail, mail and sea entry points for harmful pests, diseases and weeds.

This included screening almost 650,000 interstate airline passengers compared to about 250,000 in 2021-22 and inspecting close to 160,000 vehicles at the border road checkpoints, compared to 80,000 the previous year.

From July to September this year, the Quarantine WA team has already screened about 150,000 airline passengers, 87,000 vehicles at road checkpoints and 65,000 parcels.