So, let’s say you’re in south Florida and you grow weary of the mundane day to day affairs so, you seek some spiritual guidance. Somehow, you come across a guy that will help you on your path. Would you draw the line, come to your senses, if said guy told you that you must eat some snail mucus to find the way?
Devotees of a man claiming to practice a traditional African religion said they had to ingest the mucus of a Giant African Snail that sickened them. Federal authorities in January raided the Miami man’s home after receiving complaints. The man has not been criminally charged, but prosecutors and state and federal wildlife agencies are investigating. The Giant African Snail is prohibited in the U.S. without special approval.
Evidently, it isn’t illegal to coax people in to eating snail mucus. So, bring in the fish and game dept. and try to get the guy on a technicality. Giant African Snails are contraband. They’re still investigating so…..who knows? Maybe the guy got rid of the snails. Maybe, he never had the snails. Maybe, he just keeps some mucus on hand. Is Giant African Snail mucus illegal?
All that aside, snail guy isn’t the yob here. The devotees are…
Followers said they got violently ill, losing weight and developing strange lumps in their stomachs.
How much snail mucus does it take to cause that kind of reaction?
I imagine those fellers would be up to the task.
The snails, native to East Africa, are considered highly dangerous because they can consume up to 500 species of plants. They even eat plaster and stucco. They contain both male and female reproductive organs, and can lay up to 1,200 eggs a year.
Authorities are warning South Florida residents to report any sightings of the giant snails, which are considered an invasive species harmful to people and Florida plants.
The snails are “one of the most damaging in the world in regards to plants and agriculture,” federal plant pathologist Frederick J. Zimmerman wrote in an affidavit filed in court.
In 1966, a boy visiting Hawaii brought back three giant snails to Miami, and his grandmother released them into her garden. Seven years later, there were 18,000 of them
“According to the search warrant, Stewart claimed to have smuggled the snails into the United States in his luggage. He kept them in a 3-foot-by-2-foot wooden box in the backyard of his house in the 100 block of East 19th Street. He fed them lettuce.”
So yes, he did have the snails. He admitted smuggling them into the US. It was definitely not a technicality being used to infringe on an idiot’s right to free practice of religion.
Don’t believe in the dangers inherent in invasive species? Ask a southern Californian about the common garden snail, imported for use in restaurants in La La land where the snails have no natural enemies. Or ask an Arizonan about honey bees that now regularly attack people and, most unforunately, dogs left chained in backyards. Ask an Austrailian about rabbits.
TIGHTER SNAIL REGULATION NOW!!!
We just need to actively enforce the laws already on the books.
Do I always have to supply the fianl word?
Okay then here goes:
Smak Down Slug Fest !!
Conscript them into US Army and send them to Iraq.
Will that be escargot To Go?
Happy Trails …
Five Dollars :: Foot Long
Partner them with feral hogs and watch ‘em slide….
They even eat stucco and plaster: what about Terrorists?
Back to the island
Gimme’ shelter
… and finally but not least ….
Not all Sluggers go to jail …!