CNN
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Customs officers at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport made an uncommon – and probably harmful – discovery in a passenger’s baggage: Six giant African snails.
The snails, which had been alive, had been discovered within the suitcase of a traveler who arrived in Detroit from the west African nation of Ghana, according to a Friday news release from US Customs and Border Protection.
The critters are thought-about a “prohibited organism” within the US as a result of they’ll trigger ailments in people and might wreak important havoc within the atmosphere if launched within the wild, in line with the information launch.
Despite this, individuals all over the world eat the snails and maintain them as pets in some nations.
“Our CBP officers and agriculture specialists work diligently to target, detect, and intercept potential threats before they have a chance to do harm to U.S. interests,” stated port director Robert Larkin within the information launch. “The discovery of this highly invasive pest truly benefits the health and well-being of the American people.”
Native to east Africa, the snails can develop as much as 8-inches lengthy. Giant African snails can carry a parasite known as rat lungworm that results in meningitis in people. In addition, they eat at least 500 several types of crops, and even eat the plaster and stucco off homes as a supply of calcium, which may result in environmental injury if they’re launched into the wild, Customs and Border Protection stated.
In July, a Florida county was placed under quarantine after officials discovered a fast-growing population of the snails. The inhabitants was thought to have originated within the illegal pet commerce.
A previous population of giant African snails found in Miami-Dade County took 10 years and tens of millions of {dollars} and to be totally eradicated. The snails can produce as much as 2,500 eggs per 12 months, so the inhabitants is tough to regulate.