Report a pest or disease

Be part of New Zealand's biosecurity system and help protect our environment and economy.

Pest-and-disease hotline – 0800 80 99 66

Everyday New Zealanders

Whether you live here or are visiting our country, call 0800 80 99 66 if you suspect you've seen any of these, on land or in water:

  • an animal pest
  • a plant pest
  • signs of plant or animal disease.

Scientists

Call 0800 80 99 66 or use these forms to submit a formal report:

Vets and farmers – TSE surveillance

Incentives are available for vets and farmers who take part in New Zealand's transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) surveillance programme. Submit samples to help support our TSE-free status.

Take part in TSE surveillance

Cargo and baggage handlers

Keep watch for signs of infestations when dealing with shipments from overseas. If you see something – contain it, then report it by calling 0800 80 99 66.

See, Contain, Report – what to do if you see signs of pests or contaminants [PDF, 2.9 MB]

Legal obligations

New Zealanders are expected to report unusual organisms to MPI. Unusual organisms are those that appear to be something not normally seen in New Zealand.

Notifiable organisms are those that could seriously harm New Zealand's primary production or our trade and market access. If you spot a notifiable organism, you have a legal obligation under the Biosecurity Act 1993 to tell MPI. If you think you've spotted one, call the pests-and-diseases hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

Tips for spotting pests

You can use these resources to help confirm a pest sighting but it's not required. An MPI expert can do the identification for you.

Weeds and bugs

These online databases can help identify pests affecting farms and native environments.

Animal pests

The National Pest Control Agency's (NPCA) websites have guidelines for identifying vertebrate pests and controlling them.

Marine pests and diseases

References to help you identify marine pests and discover where they've been found so far.

If in any doubt, call our pest-and-disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66.

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