Risk Management Proposal   
Guinea Pigs from Australia  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
January 2014   
 
 
Disclaimer  
 
This risk management proposal does not constitute, and should not be regarded as, legal advice. While 
every effort has been made to ensure the information in this document is accurate, the Ministry for 
Primary Industries does not accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever for any error of fact, 
omission, interpretati on or opinion that may be present, however it may have occurred.  
 
Requests for further copies should be directed to:  
 
Ministry for Primary Industries  
Standards Branch  
Animal Imports  
PO Box 2526  
WELLINGTON 6140  
 
Email:   animalimports@mpi.govt.nz  
Telephone:      04 890 0134  
Facsimile:      04 894 0733  
 
© Crown Copyright - Ministry for Primary Industries   
i Contents  Page 
 
1 Purpose  1 
2 Background  1 
3 Objective  1 
4 Recommendations for identified risk organisms  2 
4.1 Weed seeds  2 
  
Ministry for Primary Industries   Risk Management Proposal for Guinea Pigs from  Australia   1 1 Purpose  
(1) The purpose of this document is to:  
a) present the risks associated with the importation of guinea pigs from Australia;  
b) outline options considered for managing those risks;  
c) show how these options have been assessed; and  
d) provide recommendations for import requirements to be included in the import health standard (IHS).   
 
(2) The import health standard (IHS) is developed under Section 24 of the Biosecurity Act 1993.  
(3) For a detailed risk assessment of the identified hazards, refer to the Import Risk Analysis  (IRA): Guinea 
pigs (Cavia porcellus) from Australia. A copy can be viewed at the following link: [insert web link once 
published].  
 
2 Background  
(1) In 2013 a request for the development of an import health standard for the importation of pet guinea pigs 
from Australia was submitted.  
(2) An IRA for guinea pigs from Australia has been done by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) with the 
objective of mitigating risks assoc iated with importing this commodity. The IRA is the basis for the guinea 
pig risk management measures discussed in this document.  
(3) The IHS for guinea pigs from Australia will be based on risk decisions from the IRA.  
3 Objective  
(1) The objective of the risk management measures proposed for the IHS is to manage, to an acceptable level, 
the biosecurity risks posed by the import of guinea pigs from Australia into New Zealand.  
(2) From the IRA, the following was classified as  a potential hazard in the commodity and identified for risk 
management.  
a) Weed seeds  
 
 Risk Management Proposal for Guinea Pigs from Australia  Ministry for Primary Industries   2  4 Recommendations for identified risk organisms  
(1) The diseases that were considered as potential hazards are those that could be transmitted by guinea pigs 
and may infect domestic and fera l /wild animals, or humans in New Zealand.  
(2) The following was considered a potential hazard in the commodity and will be considered in this risk 
management proposal.  
4.1 Weed seeds  
(1) The following points have been considered when drafting options to manage the ri sks associated with the 
introduction of weeds and weed seeds in the commodity : 
a) Weed seeds could be introd uced attached to imported guinea pig s hair, within skin folds, or in their 
faeces.  
b) The IRA on the importation of weeds species by live animals recommended that animals should be 
held, pre shipment, in areas free of weed species and fed on clean pasture or high quality feed. 
During transportation, provision of high quality feed with little or no we ed species contamination or 
feed that has been treated in such a way as to render seeds non - viable would mitigate the risks 
associated with the importation of live animals. Faeces produced during transport could be safely 
disposed of, either enroute or on  arrival in New Zealand.  
 
4.1.1 Risk management options for weed seeds from risk assessment  
Options are:  
(1) The guinea pigs could be thoroughly groomed and inspected for contaminating plant material on the day of 
export. This would be in conjunction with an owner’s  declaration that the animals have been fed on a high 
quality diet not including weed seeds for the past 3 days.  
(2) Guinea pigs could be quarantined for 3 days where they have access to only high quality hay (without 
seeds), fresh fruit and vegetables or proc essed pellets. The guinea pigs would be housed in cages with 
wire mesh floors without bedding or bedding materials such as wood shavings, sawdust or blankets.  
4.1.2 Recommended option  
(1) The guinea pigs must be certified by the official veterinarian to be free from  obvious contamination with dirt, 
plant material and other organic material on the day of export. An owner’s declaration will attest that the 
animal has been fed on a high quality diet not including weed seeds for 3 days prior to export. Quarantining 
the g uinea pigs is not a practical option and is not consistent with other current IHS conditions for pet 
animals from Australia.