SAN FRANCISCO: Two live Giant African Snails, considered among the most damaging mollusks in the world, apparently hitched a ride on a shipment of wooden pallets from American Samoa and were found at the Port of Oakland earlier this month, officials said.
The snails, along with a pile of dead snail eggs, were found in early December by U. S. Customs and Border Protection Agriculture specialists on the pallets. They were forwarded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Inspection Station, which identified them as Giant African Snails.
The mollusks can grow up to 8 inches long, consume at least 500 different of types of plants, and can cause structural damage by eating paint, plaster, and stucco in houses, according to the USDA.
They are also carriers of various plant and human pathogens, including a parasitic nematode that can lead to meningitis in humans.
“Giant African Snails are a serious agriculture and human health threat, since they consume such a wide variety plants and can carry diseases,” said Brian J. Humphrey, director of field operations for U.S. Customs in San Francisco.
It’s the second time over the past two months that the mollusk has been discovered in shipments at the Oakland port. In November, customs agents discovered a Giant African Snail in a shipping container of commercial goods from Asia, Humphrey said.
In both instances, CBP immediately reloaded and safeguarded the shipment until required treatment could be completed.
