ATLANTA — Talk about a slimy situation, an alert Beagle and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) intercepted a Giant African Snail inside a piece of luggage of a passenger returning from Nigeria.
Mox, a member of the Beagle Brigade at ATL alerted to the passenger's luggage and during inspection, CBP personnel found a live Giant African Snail along with prohibited goat meat, cow skins, melon seeds and vegetables.
Animals, seeds and plants, and other items purchased or collected while abroad can be prohibited from entry into the United States because of the damage the items might do to US agricultural resources and environments. It is the job of K9 teams such as the Beagle Brigade and CBP to detect and confiscate these possible dangers.
In the case of the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fullica or GAS), the animal is highly invasive and, according to the US Department of Agriculture, one of the most damaging snails in the world because it consumes at least 500 types of plants. The snail causes extensive damage to tropical and subtropical environments and poses a serious health risk to humans because it carries a parasitic nematode that can lead to meningitis.
The traveler, from whose suitcase the Giant African Snail was secured, was informed about bringing prohibited items into the country before continuing her journey to Texas.
Travelers can avoid situations such as this by learning about which products are prohibited or restricted from the US by visiting CBP's Know Before You Go webpage.
The US has two recorded instances of Giant African Snail invasions -- the first in southern Florida in the 1960s and again in 2021 in Broward and Miami Dade counties in Florida. In both instances, it took 10 years to eradicate the animal. There have been reports of the snail in Pasco County, Florida, in 2022.
