CBP discovers destructive mollusks at Port of Oakland

The Giant African Snails, which can grow up to 8 inches long and consume at least 500 different types of plants, cause structural damage to buildings and carry various plant and human pathogens.    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agriculture Specialists at the Port of Oakland discovered two live Giant African Snails and a pile of dead snail eggs in a shipment of wooden pallets from American Samoa earlier this month, CBP said.
   The Giant African Snails, which are officially known as the Lissachatina fulica (Bowditch), can consume at least 500 different types of plants; cause structural damage by eating paint, plaster and stucco in buildings; and carry various plant and human pathogens, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
   The snails can grow up to 8 inches long.
   This is the second interception of this pest at the Port of Oakland in two consecutive months. In November, a Giant African Snail was discovered in a shipping container of commercial goods from Asia.
   “CBP is on the frontline 24/7 searching for anything crossing our borders that could potentially harm our citizens,” CBP Director of Field Operations in San Francisco Brian J. Humphrey said in a statement. “Giant African Snails are a serious agriculture and human health threat, since they consume such a wide variety of plants and can carry diseases.”