CANBERRA, July 3 (Xinhua) -- A "bad egg" who was caught trying to import three fertilized and potentially dangerous chicken eggs into Australia from Thailand was fined 660 Australian dollars (506 U.S. dollars) on Monday, in what has been described as a blatant flouting of Australia's strict biosecurity laws.
Canberra man Dang Thaow was apprehended at Sydney Airport in 2015 after customs officials suspected that he was concealing illegal items on his person after flying in from Thailand.
Officers conducted a search and found three eggs, later confirmed to be fertilized, in his underwear and pockets, something which Dr. Robyn Cleland, acting Head of Complaince at the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, said was illegal due to the risks posed by foreign "exotic diseases."
"When it comes to biosecurity, it only takes one 'bad egg' to put us all at risk," Cleland said in a department-issued statement on Monday.
"Fertile chicken eggs are high biosecurity risk items as they can carry exotic diseases such as Newcastle Disease and Avian Influenza.
"That's why the importation of hatching eggs into Australia is strictly controlled, this safeguards us from highly contagious viruses that can infect domestic poultry and many species of captive caged and wild birds, with some strains able to be transmitted to humans."
At the time, Thaow claimed the eggs were prescribed to him and that he would be eating them, but it was later determined they were simple chicken eggs which had been fertilized. Later, investigators also discovered a menagerie of hens and chicken's at Thaow's place of residence, which Thaow denied owning.
Cleland said Australia had a proud history of keeping its chicken and egg industries free from exotic diseases, and added that the government took deception of its biosecurity laws "very seriously."
"With the gross production value of the poultry industry estimated at 2.2 billion Australian dollars (1.69 billion U.S. dollars) and the egg industry estimated at 653 million Australian dollars (500 million U.S. dollars), an outbreak of an exotic disease would have serious social and economic consequences for Australia," Cleland said.
"This is another lesson for anyone hatching a plan to bring eggs here, we take these incidents very seriously.
"Travelers carrying foods, plant material or animal products in their luggage must declare them on their incoming passenger card.
"We need people to do the right thing and not bring or send things to Australia that could result in pests or diseases getting here."
