SNAILS AS FOOD FOR MAN: VETERINARIANS SHOULD STUDY.

BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF SNAILS

Snails are GASTROPODS of sub-phylum MOLLUSCA. There are fresh water snails e.g Littorina species with primary gills (like fish), Marine snails e.g. Haliotis, Turbo species, with two gills e.g. (primary and secondary gills) and the land snails e.g. Achatina, Vitrina species which are characterized by the possession of lungs (like Mammals).
SPECIES OF LAND SNAIL
This include Achatina spp, Archchatina spp, Helis spp, Eobama spp, Otala spp etc.

LOCAL NIGERIANS INTEREST IN SNAILS 

Snails were known as popular delicacies, often in families especially on “Sunday” market days special meals.  Well, this is without prejudice to some communities in Nigeria that do not eat them.Many of these communities are now gradually changing their attitude to snails. A Nigerian said that when he travelled from Eastern Nigeria to Lagos by road, the snails were very common and cheap. They were very popular travellers meals, common especially in the former Mid-west region of Nigeria. They are forest animals. Snails exist in any forest in Nigeria but more so in the Rain Forest and swamp forest zones of the country during rainy season. They thrive well in a humid region. They AESTIVATE (hibernate) during the dry hot season (period). They don’t like hot weather. They grow in wild. Small children and women simply picked them from the wild in those days in the night with special bush fires and later with battery torch-lights. They were good food and income yielding for rural people in Nigeria.

THE BASIC REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY OF LAND SNAILS

Snails are basically Hermaphrodites because each possesses both male and female reproductive systems. They start to reproduce at about five months of age. They were thought to be pure hermaphrodites being able to fertilize themselves. However, Pauson and Chase (1984) have shown that the snails store allosperms received from another copulating partner and use them when they are ready to breed some months later. They showed that an individual snail species maintained in isolation from birth never produced viable/fertile eggs clutches. This is to state that snails normally lay fertilized eggs.
Snails are very rich in carbohydrates, protein, ash and water when compared to other food animals such as beef, pork, lamb,chicken and whole milk.The ash is very rich in Iron and Potassium and other trace elements like Magnesium, Manganese, Zinc, Copper (but no phosphorus).

MEDICINAL USES OF SNAILS

1. Abortion: Abortion is the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb (uterus) at a stage of pregnancy when it is incapable of independent survival. The medicinal values in snails help to prevent abortion.
2. Antihypertensive agent: It has antihypertensive effects. It reduces high blood pressure.
3. Conjuctivitis: Conjunctivitis is a puffiness or an inflammation of the conjunctiva which becomes red and swollen and produces discharge which contains a watery fluid or pus. It causes irritation rather than pain and does not usually affect vision or visual acuity. Conjunctivitis may be caused by infection by bacteria or viruses (in which case it usually spreads fast to the other eye) or chemical or physical irritation. The patient ordinarily recuperates with no after effects in 1 to 3 weeks. Bacterial infections respond to antibiotic eye drops. Snails have medicinal substance that treats conjunctivitis.
4. Kidney Disease (Nephritis): Nephritis is the inflammation or puffiness of the kidney. Nephritis is a non-specific term used to mark out a condition resulting from a variety of causes. Medicinal values in snails have anti-nephritic effects.
5. Asthma: Asthma is the condition of subjects with extensive narrowing of the bronchial air passage that changes in severity over short periods of time (spontaneously or under treatment) and results in difficulty in breathing, cough and wheezing. Snails’ medicinal values have anti-asthmatic effects.
6. Anaemia: Anaemia is a reduction in the quantity of the (haemoglobin) oxygen-carrying pigment in the blood. The major symptoms are excessive fatigability and tiredness, breathlessness on exertion, paleness of mucous membranes (pallor), poor resistance to infection and weight loss. Anaemia may be caused by many factors. It may be haemolytic anaemia, haemorrhagic anaemia, iron-deficiency anaemia, aplastic anaemia etc. medicinal values of snails have anti-anaemic effects.
7. Burns, Skin rashes etc. Energy value = 80KCL/gm (Elmslie 1982).
Snails are used as ornaments- the shells.
1. Decoration of houses
2. Toys such as whistles, necklaces, bracelets etc. (Rogers, 1936). So the above shows that snails are not only highly nutritional delicacies, they have medicinal values and can be used to produce ornaments.

SNAILS FOR ABROAD MARKET 

I like to say that snails have great export potential to Europe and in other parts of the world. They are very popular there too. In recent times, interest in snail meat has spread so much in Nigeria that it is served in many hotels in the country. The delicacy has now acquired the popular name of “Ejuna” meat in Nigeria including the ordinary towns and city markets.

ENDANGERED SPECIES 

As years passed by in Nigeria, with the various developmental project like roads, estates, farms, factories, schools, tree-cutting (deforestation) etc. we now observe that we see less and less of snails especially the giant land snails. They have now become more and more COSTLY and less and less AVAILABLE! A giant land snail that used to cost not more than 20 kobo then , now cost over fifty naira (#50) or more when you see them! In other words, these popular and useful delicacies are now an ENDANGERED SPECIES. If no special concern and interest is shown now on how to FARM them, they may be no longer available to the point of extinction very probably before the end of the next decade! This DANGER to this Nutritious food delicacy is what INFORMED my interest in this species. Veterinarians can carry out scientific study of year round commercial Farming/Production of the giant land snails in Nigeria, calling attention to its endangered status.