A major international airline is facing scrutiny after failing to declare the arrival of two dogs into Australia, reminiscent of a past incident involving actor Johnny Depp. United Airlines breached Australia’s biosecurity laws by not reporting the dogs on flights to Brisbane in March and Sydney in December 2022.
Additionally, the airline failed to meet prescribed measures for aircraft disinsection—using insecticides for pest and disease control—in August 2023. Furthermore, it did not provide necessary information to biosecurity officers when requested during the same month.
Fortunately, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry confirmed that the biosecurity threat posed by these breaches was nullified.
Biosecurity Deputy Secretary Justine Saunders expressed serious concerns about the unchecked importation of live animals into Australia. “Australia is currently free of many exotic pests and diseases, such as rabies, which can be transmitted from dogs to humans,” she stated in a Thursday announcement. “The entry, spread, and establishment of rabies would have devastating impacts in Australia.”
In response to the breaches, United Airlines entered into an enforceable undertaking with the Australian government in August. The airline has committed to revising its internal processes, systems, and training over the next 15 months, with compliance monitored by the government.
Saunders noted that enforceable undertakings are a collaborative and cost-effective method for ensuring long-term biosecurity compliance, as opposed to lengthy court proceedings.
United Airlines has been approached for further comment.
This incident echoes a previous biosecurity scandal involving former Hollywood couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, who faced legal repercussions in 2015 for sneaking their pets, Pistol and Boo, into Australia. The then-Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce threatened to euthanize the dogs if Depp did not return them to the United States. Heard later pleaded guilty to providing a false document to customs officials, receiving a one-month good behavior bond as part of her sentence.
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