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.
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 the stucco and plaster on buildings in a hunt for calcium they need to grow their big shells.
Canine detectors, including a Labrador retriever, are being trained because they are “very good” at sniffing out the foreign species.
The Florida agriculture departement says they have already effectively contained the creature, which has no predator here, by using some 45 volunteers fanning out weekly to search for them.
(READ the Reuters story from NY Daily News)