This is no fairy tale: A giant snail has arrived in the Big Apple, and the only happy ending will feature its destruction.
What's happening?
In June, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation reported that an African land snail had been "surrendered" in Brooklyn to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
The mollusk, which can grow to eight inches long and five inches in diameter, is invasive in the state, the agency said in a post on Facebook. It eats more than 500 plants and carries a parasite that can cause potentially deadly meningitis in humans.
Last month, Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) responded to @NYCParks about an invasive giant African land snail (Achatina fulica) in Prospect Park. An NYC Parks employee said that someone surrendered the snail in a box to their wildlife department. pic.twitter.com/A7Zm10H6Kt
— New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (@NYSDEC) June 21, 2024
It's not clear if the snail was a pet, but we can cross our fingers. If it was living in the wild, the borough and perhaps the state are at risk.
"The discovery is a frustrating addition to the large group of invasive species already present in New York State," WRRV reported, citing the northern snakehead and mitten crab.
The DEC stated in a news release that possession of invasive species is prohibited by law.
Why is this important?
WRRV said the snails can damage buildings, but the most frightening thing is the chance that people could contract meningitis. The disease, which inflames tissues around the brain and spinal cord, has a high fatality rate, according to the World Health Organization, killing one in six people who contract bacterial meningitis, while one in five suffer severe complications.
The invasive snails landed in Hawai'i in 1936 and the continental United States 30 years later. Florida spent an inflation-adjusted $3 million over nine years to eradicate the species when it invaded then. It was back in 2011 and cost $23 million over 10 years to be eliminated, NPR reported, though three areas in the state are under quarantine.
The snails can self-reproduce and lay hundreds of eggs every two to three months.
What's being done about African land snails?
"This snail is a Federally prohibited organism that cannot be legally sold or possessed in the USA," according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Division of Plant Industry.
Though officials and conservationists have encouraged the eating of other invasive species, that has not happened with the African land snail. In June, 90 snails were seized in Detroit from a traveler coming from Ghana, one West African nation where they are a delicacy. The animals were euthanized.
The two Florida eradications are the only two successful eradication efforts in the world, per FDACS. The DPI used visual inspections, detector dogs, and manual collection and treatment to get rid of 168,538 of the creatures in 32 areas after the latest infestation.
Early detection, rapid response, and public awareness are vital, according to FDACS.
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