During the course of January, over 20,000 Giant African snails were collected in farming districts in Mt Lambert, just north of the Aranguez “food basket” community. Local authorities had previously successfully contained the aggressive invasive species for more than five years in the Diego Martin area. They are potentially disease-carrying creatures that pose a threat to domestic agriculture.
This was revealed yesterday at a CABI International workshop on Invasive Alien Species (IAS) by Ministry of Food Production entomologist, Allan Balfour. There was also evidence that the pest had also made its way to Moka Heights in Maraval, where 266 snails were collected by the end of February. Balfour said the relocation of landfill rubble and the movement of other material out of the Diego Martin “containment zone” was largely responsible for the breach.
Read more on this in the Trinidad Guardian article: Giant African Snail Closer to ‘Food Basket’ Region
Featured Image: Trinidad Guardian (Comic April 2002)
