QUICK action by Biosecurity SA after the destructive pest Khapra beetle was detected in SA last year has led to national recognition.
Executive director Will Zacharin accepted an Australian Biosecurity Award in the government category at the ABARES Outlook conference on Tuesday last week.
“The Khapra beetle is an exotic pest of stored grain and there was a detection in March last year at a quarantine-approved premise in Adelaide,” he said.
Material from the premises had been sent to Kangaroo Island.
“We had to respond to make sure no Khapra beetles escaped and in doing that we had to review 7300 forward movements from KI Freight Services,” he said.
A trapping and surveillance program was also run for 12 months, in which 5000 insects were collected. The surveillance program winds up in May, but with the danger times of spring and summer finished, when the beetles would have been active, Mr Zacharin is confident no beetles escaped.
