Calls for vehicle checks as invasive ants found near K'gari
By James Taylor
Yellow crazy ants are one of the world's worst invasive species and they are spreading on the doorstep to K'gari, prompting calls for biosecurity improvements.
@maggiejk at least in part more likely lack of resources for #biosecurity and testing - although it seems they were eating raw/undercooked meat which is always going to be a risk. Even so, anthrax is still rare and folk eat beef all the time across ESEA (East and SE Asia) - Malaysia is stepping up biosecurity controls even though the part of Thailand this occured in is far away from the border..
The biosecurity officers' fight against fire ants and allegations of threats, harassment and stalking
A Glen Turner Déjà vu
“We’ve had threats of ‘If you come on my property, I’ll shoot you’. ‘If you try and come on my property, I’ll set my dog on you...Australian police are routinely escorting biosecurity officers onto private properties after they reported being threatened with dogs and guns. In cases when people were “incredibly hostile”, program staff would “proactively engage with the police to escort us and to keep the peace and to keep everyone safe in that environment, because we need to complete the treatment”
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/03/fire-ants-australia-eradication-biosecurity-officers-queensland-ntwnfb
The environmental officer Glen Turner
was shot in Croppa Creek, near Moree in 2014 investigating illegal land clearing. "There is an interweaving between the physical murder of Glen Turner, and the ecological ‘murder’ of the brigalow through the voracious demand for agricultural land." Book review: ‘The Winter Road’ by Kate Holden
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https://residentjudge.com/2022/04/09/the-winter-road-by-kate-holden/
#conservation #biosecurity #FireAnts #InvasiveSpecies #BiosecurityOfficers #OHS #biodiversity #IllegalLandClearing #GlenTurner #violence #crime #Moree #GoldCoast #Grafton #SunshineCoast #LandOwnership #IndividualPropertyRights #PossessiveIndividualism #liberalism #pseudolaw #community #pests #EnvironmentalImpacts #insecticide #EnvironmentalLaws #NSW
Securing Europe’s #BiotechFuture: How can #biosecurity drive competitiveness? [Advocacy Lab Content]: The recent Euractiv event “Securing Europe’s #BiotechFuture - How can #biosecurity drive competitiveness?” brought together key stakeholders to discuss how biosecurity can support Europe’s biotech sector. https://www.euractiv.com/section/tech/video/securing-europes-biotech-future-how-can-biosecurity-drive-competitiveness/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=dlvr.it
TIL that "there are numerous #biosecurity zones and movement restrictions to prevent the spread of electric ants" in #Queensland
A friend of a friend in Cromwell has hosted an MPI fruit fly trap for 16 years without catching anything. Recently the trap captured its first fruit fly (a male), but we've yet to see an announcement from MPI.
Strange that.
Even worse, the MPI person who collected the trap said they've lost funding & will no longer be maintaining the traps, starting later this year.
What a dumb move. The Luxon government seems determined to save money in all the wrong places.
#Biosecurity uptake and perceived #risk of avian #influenza among people in #contact with #birds in the #UK, https://etidiohnew.blogspot.com/2025/04/biosecurity-uptake-and-perceived-risk.html
The emergence of sarcoptic mange in Australian wildlife via pet dogs
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https://mastodon.au/@Bellingen/114384263250656422
#wildlife #conservation #parasites #Sarcoptidae #mange #InvasiveSpecies #koalas #wombats #bandicoots #possums #roaming #pets #dogs #dogs #dogs #SettlerSociety #Biosecurity
Study: AI-Powered Research Now Prowess Outstrips Human Experts, Raising Bioweapon Risks
#AI #Virology #Biohazard #Biosecurity #DualUse #AISafety #LLMs #VCT #Research #Science #EthicsInAI #AIRegulation #AISafety #AIEthics
Study finds OpenAI’s o3 outperforms 94% of expert virologists in wet lab problem-solving—potentially accelerating research, but raising risks of misuse for bioengineering and bioweapons. The dual-use era of AI in science is here. #AI #Biosecurity #Virology #AIEthics
A burden to native wildlife
Sarcoptic mange is a parasitic skin disease affecting many Australian wildlife species. The burrowing mite creates tunnels under the skin affecting many Australian wildlife animals. "The mite is invasive to Australia and was likely introduced by European settlers and their domestic animals around 200 years ago.”
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https://wildlifehealthaustralia.com.au/Portals/0/ResourceCentre/FactSheets/Mammals/Sarcoptic_mange_in_%20Australian_wildlife.pdf
"The origins of sarcoptic mange in Australian native animals are poorly understood, with the most consistent conclusion being that mange was introduced by settlers and their dogs and subsequently becoming a major burden to native wildlife."
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https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-016-1578-2
Fraser T, Charleston M et al. (2016) The emergence of sarcoptic mange in Australian wildlife: A long- standing and unresolved debate. Parasites and Vectors, 9: 316
#wildlife #conservation #parasites #Sarcoptidae #mange #koalas #wombats #bandicoots #possums #roaming #pets #dogs #SettlerSociety #Biosecurity #InvasiveSpecies
Chortle. The prescription meds I’m carrying as a result of the #TransientIschaemicAttack never even came up at all when I entered #Japan… but there’s a question on the Australian #Biosecurity form explicitly targeting that sort of thing.
And I know better than to dodge that. I’ve ***worked*** with the Biosecurity crew, lo these many #MOGs ago
Oh well, I still have the medical summary/prescriptions I got before leaving, I’ll be fine. :)
#Biotechnology and #biosecurity need ‘safety first’ AI regulatory approach [Advocacy Lab Content]: #Biosecurity is changing its definition with the arrival of AI, now AI is rewriting the script of what Europe can do in #biotechnology. https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/biotechnology-and-biosecurity-competitiveness-need-safety-first-ai-regulatory-approach/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=dlvr.it
#Biotechnology and #biosecurity need ‘safety first’ AI regulatory approach [Advocacy Lab Content]: #Biosecurity is changing its definition with the arrival of AI, now AI is rewriting the script of what Europe can do in #biotechnology. https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/biotechnology-and-biosecurity-competitiveness-need-safety-first-ai-regulatory-approach/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=dlvr.it
Great video about biosecurity on the Pembrokeshire seabird islands (Skokholm and Skomer, run by the Wildlife Trust, and Ramsey Island, run by the RSPB)
Beehive movement relaxed as #Biosecurity Queensland eases varroa mite rules https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2025-04-16/varroa-mite-queensland-borders-relaxed-bees-honey-pollination/105183398
Honey
Went and picked honey last week from my supplier, a bio security Officer for Varroa (Varroa development officer). The jar on the right is what I normally get, ‘cause honey. 
Not now. I can only get the middle and left size. Why?
The impact of #VarroaMite on local hives. The example he gave was from our OS SE Island neighbours where the number of hives went 2000 to 8. This is the future of bees in Victoria.
#AgVic #Ag / #Victoria / #Varroa / #BeeMAX / #BioSecurity / #agriculture <https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-insects-and-mites/priority-pest-insects-and-mites/varroa-mite-of-honey-bees/varroa-mite-current-situation> / <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varroa>
Thank goodness for Australian public health - including biosecurity - keeping us safe from crap US food products. Thank you to all who work in these largely invisible areas.
New #openaccess release!
'Fences and Biosecurity: The Politics of Governing Unruly Nature', edited by Annika Pohl Harrisson & Michael Eilenberg, explores the role of fencing as a mechanism of control, exclusion, and power in the name of #biosecurity. The volume brings together scholars from different regions to investigate the ways in which biosecurity #fencing is deployed across different contexts in #Europe and #NorthAmerica.
Read or download the book via: https://doi.org/10.33134/HUP-30
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