Giant African snail invasion a shell of a big problem in US
By Ivan Couronne | China Daily | Updated: 2012-02-20 08:03
No one knows how they got there. But an invasion of African giant snails has southern Florida in a panic over potential crop damage, disease and the general yuckiness surrounding the slimy gastropods.
The United States and Florida departments of agriculture have mobilized 34 agents to battle the infestation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service is heading up an investigation into how the mollusks - which can be up to 20 cm long - arrived.
"This is a big snail - a very big snail," says Suzi Distelberg, a district inspector for the Florida Department of Agriculture, as she probes one of the shells with a gloved hand.
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