Giant African Snails

"Giant African snails" is the common name used to describe three snail species native to Africa and considered serious agricultural pests in the United States. These snails can cause extensive damage to agricultural crops and pose a risk to human health. Recent information suggests that one or more of these species are being sold in pet stores, traded by exotic animal dealers, or used for educational purposes in schools. If you have a giant African snail, please do not release it into the environment or give it to someone else. Contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to have the snail collected.

For a contact in your state, please visit:

http://www.ceris.purdue.edu/napis/names/sphdXstate.html

General Information

Giant African Snail, Slow the Illegal Sale and Spread of the PDF February 2005

Pest Alert: A Foreign Threat to U.S. Agriculture, July 2004 (PDF)

Giant African Snail (identification card) PDF July 2004

Giant African Snail Web Site

Agricultural Permits for Snails and Slugs

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Statement on Health Risk

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