Kiwifruit industry in New Zealand level of infection by November 2011. Some of the attacks in the Bay of Plenty were by the virulent strain PSA-V. The disease is worldwide, with serious attacks in Italy and France also in 2011. In mid-2013 a China-based Zespri subsidiary was fined nearly $1M for under-declaring customs duties, and the Serious Fraud Office launched an investigation into Zespri itself in October 2013. Much of the breeding to refine the green kiwifruit and develop the gold Zespri was done by the Plant & Food Research Institute (formerly HortResearch) during the decades of 1970-1999. In 1990, the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing
Great spotted kiwi Apteryx, is endemic to New Zealand, 44% of the bird species native to New Zealand are endemic. Kiwis are placed in the ratite family, which also includes the emu, ostrich, rhea, and cassowary. All ratites are flightless. While it was long presumed that Kiwi were closely related to the extinct moa bird that once inhabited New Zealand, recent DNA research identified the extinct elephant bird of Madagascar as the Kiwi's closest relative. Additionally, the kiwi is more closely related to the emu and the cassowaries than to the moa. Before the great spotted kiwi was known to science, several stories