Incidents involving new organisms

What is an incident and what is an inquiry?

An incident is an event involving a new organism where the controls may not have been followed correctly and/or where adverse effects to human health and safety, or the environment have occurred. For selected incidents, an inquiry is undertaken by us to identify whether there are any issues with our systems or processes.

We keep a record of incidents (and inquiries – if undertaken) to determine how effective the regulation of new organisms is.

Recent incidents

This list is updated three-four times a year wih the latest incidents at the top of the table.

Incident and date	Effect	Incident management
A young agouti escaped from its enclosure in November.	None identified.	The animal was recaptured and a small hole in the enclosure was sealed.
A staff member tipped untreated low risk GM waste down a drain in November.	None identified.	The staff member was reminded of treatment requirements and the drain was treated with bleach.
In October a visitor to a butterfly exhibit found a butterfly in their pushchair after they arrived home.	None identified.	The facility is undertaking ongoing work to ensure such escapes do not occur.
A keeper was pecked on the hand by a brolga crane in October.	Minor effects on human health.	The keeper received a course of antibiotics.
A brolga crane cleared his enclosure fence in September.	None identified.	The bird was recaptured and its wings were re-clipped.
Staff failed to secure a raceway gate when moving a rhinoceros to its night feed area in September. The rhinoceros moved into a service road area.	None identified.	The rhinoceros was quickly secured. Staff reviewed procedures for the movement of rhinoceroses.
Following an inventory check a microorganism facility notified MAF that it had transferred a low risk genetically modified cell line to another containment facility without MAF approval in September.	None identified.	The facility reviewed their systems to ensure records were up to date.
A child was bitten on the finger by an otter after leaning over the otter public barrier in August.	Minor effects on human health.	The child received minor surgery on his finger.
A meerkat escaped from its enclosure in August.	None identified.	Traps were set but the animal was not recovered. It was presumed dead due to very cold night time temperatures.
A plant house transferred two low risk genetically modified plants to another containment facility without MAF approval in July	None identified.	The facility undertook staff refresher training on the movement of goods, and undertook an audit to ensure no other goods had been removed without approval.