mcrudd Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 Hi, I was wondering if someone could explain the reason to me that there is no hamsters in New Zealand. I just find it facinating as they are the most popular pet in most countries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 something to do with biosecurity. I wondered the same thing a few years ago. Apparently the NZ climate would be perfect for them to reach pest status and damage our crops and small wildlife animals as well as compete for food sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 be happy with guinea pigs instead. hamsters are probably a bio-security threat and are illegal here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrudd Posted July 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 I had a little russian hamster in South Africa and she was so cute. I had her from baby and she died a gray old little hamster. She had a record lifespan of six years, never even knew they could live that long So I wanted to get one for my daughter and the petshop did not even know what they were, I was very suprised. So what exactly does biosecurity mean. Is it illness or something like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 be happy with guinea pigs instead. hamsters are probably a bio-security threat and are illegal here. What threat do they pose that Guinea Pigs do not? :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrudd Posted July 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 What threat do they pose that Guinea Pigs do not? :-? or mice and rats, those little rodents are a big thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 biosecurity is just the way a country protects it's environment from biological harm. i.e unwanted organisms that can cuase damage. in NZ I think it's MAF (ministry agriculture and fisheries) and DOC (dept of Conservation) that take care of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh_S Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 Haha my brother had a few escaped guinea pigs living in their gardens. They survived for months but vanished one day. I suspect kitty :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrudd Posted July 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 biosecurity is just the way a country protects it's environment from biological harm. i.e unwanted organisms that can cuase damage. in NZ I think it's MAF (ministry agriculture and fisheries) and DOC (dept of Conservation) that take care of that. Thanks for that Never knew what it meant. They are doing a great job, I love gardening without fear of a snake attacking me. I can't tell you how many times I nearly got bit by snakes while gardening in South Africa. Ooh and not being scared you are gonna get chowed down by a leopard, I have done my fare share of sprinting when we went to our timeshare in the mountains LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 hamsters are smaller and nocturnal, sorta like rats. guinea pigs are larger and not so nocturnal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 guinea pigs only sleep for about 4 hrs a day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted July 26, 2010 Report Share Posted July 26, 2010 Biosecurity New Zealand is a sub-species of MAF. (MAFBNZ - Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Biosecurity New Zealand) "MAF Biosecurity New Zealand is the division of MAF charged with leadership of the New Zealand biosecurity system. It encompasses facilitating international trade, protecting the health of New Zealanders and ensuring the welfare of our environment, flora and fauna, marine life and Maori resources." (From: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz) something to do with biosecurity. I wondered the same thing a few years ago. Apparently the NZ climate would be perfect for them to reach pest status and damage our crops and small wildlife animals as well as compete for food sources. Any link or proof of this statement please? I can find import health standards for hamsters used for laboratory testing, but I cannot find a Cricetinae under any other database. any of the classification from Myomorpha, Muroidea, Cricetidae, Cricetinae... In fact the only 4 mammalia that are listed on the MAFBNZ are rabbits, stoats, possum, and ferrets. DOC and ERMA interlink with them and can ban organisms or list organisms through MAF, but there is no shared database which really puts the stink up my nose, especially since I'm meant to be studying it... Joy... EDIT: Called MAFBNZ, Hamsters are a banned Species, but they cannot give me further information on why... secret Squirell or something.... or should that be secret hamster? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 Perhaps the secret squirrel doesn't want competition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 They make terrible pets any ways :lol: They bite real hard if they are unhappy, and they tend to get unhappy really quick. At least guinea pigs don't bite all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 I thought hamsters only lived a couple of years. We don't have gerbils either - for the same unknown reason as hamsters perhaps? I was hoping to see some (hamsters or gerbils) when I was in the UK but couldn't find any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malevolentsparkle Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 probably banned cause they're not here yet, if rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, and mice weren't here already then they would probably be banned too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 to argue the" here yet" they probably are, since a Import health standard for lab hamsters exists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malevolentsparkle Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 doc seems very good at finding exceptions when theres money involved.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 It has nothing to do with DOC..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie841 Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 doc seems very good at finding exceptions when theres money involved.... If the general public could guarantee the same level of security and also guarantee that none would be released then I am sure they would let them in. Would you be happy to have one if they said only males (or females) are allowed in and all of them must be registered. On top of that random inspections & when they die you need to return the body or you will receive a huge fine (six figures). That is the only way to insure that they are not released in to the wild to cause problems. I know it is extreme but I suspect that that is what the commercial operations have to do to be aloud them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malevolentsparkle Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 It has nothing to do with DOC..... yeah ok bit unfair to single out doc in this disscusion. let me rephrase: the whole NZ govt enviroment/biosecuritity system is very good at finding exceptions when theres money involved. just look at the whole game fish (eg trout) system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 Trout were here ages ago. Agree they make money out of it, but that the way of the world, it not just gubbermint... BNZ do a fantastic job, people don't realise just how huge a job it is, really... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 BNZ do a fantastic job, people don't realise just how huge a job it is, really... Do they though? I mean really... We aren't a huge country! and it always seems that there is a breakdown of information which results in "results" that are less than desirable to New Zealand's people. I think to ban something like a hamster is more on the ignorance side of the fence than the safety side. Agreed though that there always needs to be lengthy procedures when introducing new species and unfortunately it comes down simply to funding and resources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 Being a small country that imports a lot of goods, think of it this way: Think of the number of species present in this country. Next think of the many orders of magnitude of species not present in this country. Now think of all the many hundreds of people, parcels, shipping containers, aeroplanes and ships arriving every day. The nooks and crannies in which things can hide are endless. Now that is a huge job. Aside from all of that are the people who think it is ok to smuggle creatures or plant material into the country because, in their opinion, the organism would be nice to have/poses no threat/will sell for a lot/can't escape their care. It is highly likely that the varroa mite was introduced to NZ by a beekeeper illegally bringing a queen bee into the country, thinking "hey, bees are here already, this strain has genes I want", without realising they were also smuggling a mite that has now caused millions of dollars of damage to their own industry. Given that our major animal pests are small mammals, are you really surprised that hamsters are not allowed? How much do you (ie pro-importers) know about the species that are native to this country? Are none of them worthy of cute/interesting pet status, or are our native animals so value-less that their existence should be compromised by people wanting yet another exotic (and therefore more interesting) pet option? (sorry, rant over. I do get tired of this 'exotic is best, cute animals won't invade' theme.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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