According to Yahoo! News, Mr O'Connor said: "The pork industry's decision to challenge the Ministry's health standards is the correct one.

"No industry should be exposed to a system of scientific analysis, risk assessment and border protection that has clearly been exposed as deficient.

"The Ministry for Primary Industries should reverse its position and save the pork industry the cost of a legal injunction and challenge through the Court of Appeal.

"This is the least that can be done as a commitment to review its processes and ensure that we have a robust biosecurity system."