I've run up against similar silly rules in the past, although once you start to look carefully at the reason behind the rule, it usually makes sense.
Seems what the Dutch are worried about is that someone will use scrap lumber to build a crate, and that scrap lumber might be infested with a wood beetle or other pest that would then be unknowingly brought to Holland in your crate (same way Dutch Elm disease got to North America from Holland).
I was planning to ship my moto from England to New York City two years ago, on the Cunard boat the QE II, and I was told the moto would need to be steam-cleaned with high pressure, high temperature steam before it was loaded in England - sounded crazy to me, but the reason was that the American were terrified of getting BSE (mad cow disease) from soil that might be trapped on my mudflap.
There was no way to avoid this, so I airfreighted the bike to Canada instead - the Canadians just wanted to make a visual inspection once the bike arrived in Toronto to make sure it was not caked with loose mud and cowsh*t.
PanEuropean
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