Potentially invasive snails seized at Shanghai border

Dozens of live snails were recently seized by Shanghai Post Office Customs.

The shellbound creatures had been put into an inbound parcel and declared as souvenirs, customs officers said on Tuesday.

There were a total of 62 snails in the package. They are identified as grove snails or brown-lipped snails (Cepaea nemoralis), by the local customs inspection and quarantine center. The grove snail is a species of air-breathing land snail.

It is one of the most common species of land snail in Europe and North America, and it is harmful to many kinds of plants and crops as well as fruits and vegetables.

A certain amount of grove snails can consume an entire batch of transplanted vegetables in a short time.

Customs officers will destroy the snails in accordance with local law.

Officials said the non-native snail species could pose a threat to the country's ecosystem.

The delivery to China without permission of introduced species such as grove snails and harvest ants is banned, customs officers stated.