"Gongfu" to give Chinese visitors special welcome to New Zealand

Foreign visitors to New Zealand are often surprised to find one of their first official contacts in the country is with a dog sniffing over their luggage.

The biosecurity detector dogs are searching for forbidden products such as fruit, vegetables, and other foods and plants, that could carry bugs or bacteria that pose a risk to New Zealand's unique native flora and fauna or to the pillar agriculture industry.

Now, with China the country's fastest-growing tourism market, the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) has named one of its newest beagle puppies through a competition on Chinese social media.

"Gongfu" was the winning entry from China, MPI announced Friday.

"Gongfu means excellence achieved by a long period of practice. It is a fitting name for one of our detector dogs, which undergo nearly 18 months of training to learn how to protect our borders," said MPI detection technology manager Brett Hickman.

"As with the school competition it's the first time MPI has invited people from another country to help name a New Zealand detector dog," Hickman said in a statement.

"The ultimate aim here has been to encourage Chinese travellers to learn about New Zealand's biosecurity rules and why they are in place."

Visitors who fail to declare banned items on entry to New Zealand can face stiff fines. Endit