Labrador Retrievers To Stem Giant Snail Invasion

[Yonjuro]

something a bit lighter in the media...

Florida to call on Labrador retrievers to stem Giant Snail invasion

Reuters

August 30, 2013, 7:36 am

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Reuters © Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam holds a shell as he speaks at a news conference about successes in attempts to eradicate the Giant African Land Snail in Miami, Florida August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Joe Skipper

By Kevin Gray

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida officials trying to eradicate the Giant African Land Snail, one of the world's most destructive invasive species, plan to deploy a new weapon in the battle - Labrador retrievers.

State agriculture authorities say they hope the dogs will add to their success in fighting an infestation of the slimy snails, which were first spotted by a homeowner nearly two years ago and quickly swept through the Miami area.

On Wednesday, officials said that since the start of an aggressive extermination campaign they have collected 128,000 of the snails, which can grow as big as rats and devour plants as well as stucco and plaster in a hunt for calcium they need to grow their big shells. In large numbers, the snails can cause extensive structural damage to buildings.

"We see a lot of strange things in Florida and this one makes the top of the list," said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. "It is a very serious pest."

Putnam said $6 million has been spent so far to eradicate the munching mollusks, which may have been introduced to Florida by a Miami Santeria group, a religion with West African and Caribbean roots that was found in 2012 to be using the snails in its rituals.

The snails can carry a parasitic rat lungworm that can cause illness in humans, including a form of meningitis, although no such cases have been identified in the United States.

To stamp out the snails, a team of 45 people regularly fans out across Miami, sometimes using rakes and getting down on their hands and knees to hunt for them.

The snail fighters are also using bait, chemical treatments and experimental traps to root out the mollusks, helped by phone calls from local residents who report sightings.

Joining them soon will be canine detectors, including a Labrador retriever being trained to sniff out the snails.

"They're very good at detecting the Giant African Land Snail," said Richard Gaskalla, the head of plant industry at the Florida Agriculture Department. "So we're building four-legged technology into this program as quickly as we can."

The Giant African Land Snail has no natural predator, posing a challenge to eradication efforts. But it can give off a strong odor that dogs can be trained to detect.

Officials showed off a black Lab named Bear who is expected to soon wrap up his three-month training and start accompanying the snail hunters. Two other Labradors are also expected to be trained, they said.

Officials say they believe they have contained the snails to the Miami area.

Gaskalla said the program was showing success, with a sharp drop in numbers found.

"The number of detections this last year were in the thousands; now they are down to around 200 to 300 a week," he said.

[tdierikx]

The snails can carry a parasitic rat lungworm that can cause illness in humans, including a form of meningitis, although no such cases have been identified in the United States.

They are aware that rat lungworm also affects dogs, yes?

T.

[persephone]

Oh my Goodness ..... they are HUGE !.

[Yonjuro]

The snails can carry a parasitic rat lungworm that can cause illness in humans, including a form of meningitis, although no such cases have been identified in the United States.

They are aware that rat lungworm also affects dogs, yes?

T.

I would think so and imagine that like drug and bomb dogs they don't ingest their targets... well at least I hope the minds behind this are not completely daft??

[tdierikx]

You'd be amazed at some of the training techniques I've seen with drug sniffer dogs... *grin*

T.

[Yonjuro]

You'd be amazed at some of the training techniques I've seen with drug sniffer dogs... *grin*

T.

Oh dear, please don't tell me the drug dogs are junkies

[Dory the Doted One]

Sooooo wouldn't want to accidentally step on one those on a wet night, in bare feet.

[tdierikx]

You'd be amazed at some of the training techniques I've seen with drug sniffer dogs... *grin*

T.

Oh dear, please don't tell me the drug dogs are junkies

Not junkies - but get a "taste" for the things they are taught to seek out.

You should have seen the mangled blocks of hashish a Quarantine trainer friend used to bring to parties - they used to wrap them in hessian bags and give them to the dogs to play with...

T.