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Originally Posted by aquarist48  Good morning. I was told by my LFS that Apple Snails can no longer be shipped within the U.S.. Has anyone else heard this? Just curious. I wasn't given a reason. |
Part of the confusion may be that "apple snail" can refer to a variety of species within the Ampullariidae family.
The US Department of Agriculture has a page last updated in 2008 that says:
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Snails in the genus Achatina (e.g., Achatina fulica, The Giant African Snail), aquatic snails in the family Ampullaridae (e.g., Pomacea canaliculata, channeled apple snail), and Decollate Snails (Rumina decollata) are specifically prohibited for interstate movement or importation into the United States.
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One species complex of the family Ampullaridae, Pomacea bridgesii may receive a permit for interstate movement for sales in the hobby trade because these snails are not known to be agricultural pests. They are primarily algae feeders and sometimes are beneficial for ponds and aquariums.
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So as of about 18 months ago, some cannot be shipped across state lines, while one species requires a permit.
More recently (February-April of this year), the following was posted to AppleSnail.net (bold/red emphasis is mine):
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I spoke with Dr. LC Soileau from USDA/aphis this morning and she confirmed that they will be making a formal announcement in the next few months that permits will no longer be required for the pomecea bridgesii/diffusa snails. Most permits that were issued during the first year they were required expire this year. You do not have to renew your permit when it expires. If you feel more comfortable getting a "Letter of No Jurisdiction" then you may submit an application for a permit and they will send you one.
You should now be able to ship baby pomecea bridgesii/diffusa snails and clutches once again. This is also good news for those people who wanted to ship permitted snails but didn't want to go through the lengthy permit application process. You will still need to contact USDA/aphis if you wish to import permitted snail into the country (and yes, this means any shipments from Canada). If they catch a shipment coming in without a permit they will toss the animals into an incinerator.
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I received a call today from the always delightful Dr. LC Soileau from the USDA/aphis asking me to alert our members that there may be an automatically generated e-mail that you may receive when your current shipping permit for the pomecea bridgesii (aka diffusa) expires. Do not panic! They have not gone back on their word and required permits again. It is a "glitch" in the system that automatically sends out the warning e-mails when a permit is about to expire. So if you applied for 48 states worth of permits you may get 48 e-mails. Don't shoot the messangers!
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Unless the USDA has changed its mind again since April, some species are perfectly legal to ship.
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