Delicious African snails are not allowed to stay in the United States

Original title: African snails are dangerous to eat crops. The United States Department of Agriculture declared war on it.

According to foreign media reports, African snails can destroy buildings, eat crops and infect people with meningitis. In spite of this, some people still want to catch big African snails, even as a delicacy on the plate.

The USDA is trying to stop the sale of African snails. Since June, the Ministry of Agriculture has seized more than 1200 live African snails, all owned by the same person. The man, from Georgia, is suspected of illegally peddling African snails.

The Department of Agriculture found a clue on social media at the end of June that a man in long Island, New York, owned more than 200 snails and identified them from sellers in Georgia.

After questioning the seller, the Department of Agriculture seized nearly 1000 snails in Georgia and one each in Indiana, Pennsylvania and New York.

Authorities say it is urgent to track down African snails, which reproduce rapidly and can produce 1200 or more offspring a year. African snails can grow to be as big as their fists, and they have no natural enemies in the United States except humans.

Authorities say eating or touching large African snails may pose a health threat. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the snail may carry a parasite that causes meningitis.