The inspectors of the plant protection and inspection services at the Ministry of Agriculture in Israel caught thousands of snails weighing about 5 kg within 48 hours. The snails are apparently used for food in the East, and they were caught within 48 hours by two foreign workers who returned to Israel from Thailand. The snails were caught in the personal belongings of the passengers, and a small amount of dry plants was even found with one of them. According to the passengers, the snails were intended for their personal consumption. The snails and plants were confiscated and passed on to further tests at the Ministry of Agriculture.
During the tests, it was discovered that it was a freshwater snail of the Filopaludina type that is on the list of quarantine pests of the Ministry of Agriculture. This species belongs to the Viviparidae family and is on the quarantine list. This type of snail is common in South Asia and especially in Thailand, especially in polluted water sites, and is considered to have a high resistance to ammonia levels. In these areas, the snails are used for food, but they transmit diseases due to being the host of a nematode – Angiostrongylus cantonensis, which causes meningitis in humans. In addition, this species causes a lot of damage to aquatic plants in the various regions and can pose a danger to Israeli agriculture.
A catch of this magnitude and with these types of snails is considered unprecedented and rare – in the last twenty years there have been nine catches of attempted smuggling of six different species and subspecies of this type during 2006-2005, 2009, 2014-2013 that were destroyed in different areas such as Tel Mond in a nursery in Aquaculture and in Kfar Saba in an ornamental pond of a public park, including Mogher’s catches.
Since the beginning of last December, the Ministry of Agriculture seized plant materials from about 25 foreign workers from different places for personal purposes. This exposes the plant branches and the ecological environment in Israel to the penetration of new lesions. This, the ministry explains, can have disastrous and irreversible consequences for agriculture and the ecological balance.
Shlomit Tsioni, director of plant protection and audit services at the Ministry of Agriculture: “The Ministry of Agriculture welcomes the return of the foreign workers to the State of Israel, especially in the field of agriculture. At the same time, there is concern that these workers will introduce plants or snails into the country from their place of residence, which is unknown to the ecological environment in the State of Israel and may cause a lot of damage. In view of this, the Ministry of Agriculture makes it clear to employers in the various industries for workers coming to the State of Israel not to bring fresh agricultural produce into the State of Israel.”
Photo: NetBag Spokesperson Photo: NetBag Spokesperson Photo: NetBag Spokesperson