Giant Snails Monitor Pollution

[dee]

www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/23/snails-monitor-air-pollut_n_811286.html

Apparently humans have found another debatably cruel use for snails beyond escargot. A Russian waterworks company is using six Giant African snails to monitor pollution released from a sewage incinerator.

The incinerator is located on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg - it is one of the biggest sewage treatment facilities in the country. The snails have been fitted with heart monitors, and the plan is for the snails to breathe in the plant's smoke, and then have their readings compared to a control group.

This particular type of snail was chosen because, according to the Vodokanal state utilities company, "they have lungs and breathe air like humans."

These Giant African Snails (Achatina fulica) are common in sub-Saharan Africa. They are considered an invasive species known to eat 500 types of plants, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

While the waterworks company hopes that the snails successfully monitor pollution, they are facing scrutiny by various activist groups. Vodokanal reportedly refused Greenpeace access to their site last year, and the group is concerned. Greenpeace head Dmitry Artamonov stated, "I don't know if snails get cancer, but even if they do, it won't happen straight away, and we will not hear about it from Vodokanal."

This is not the first time that animals have been used to monitor pollution. German airports use bees to detect air quality, dog hair samples reveal arsenic contamination from a Montana mining site, and mussels are used to determine carcinogens in water.

Regarding the newest way that animals are being used to test pollution levels, what do you think? Is this use of snails innovative or cruel?

Another related article source: www.treehugger.com/files/2011/01/russia-recruits-giant-snails-to-monitor-air-pollution.php

There was a comment on a similar article in which the poster quoted from Wiki "The Snail is capable of aestivating for up to three years in times of extreme drought, sealing itself into its shell by secretion of a calcerous compound that dries on contact with the air. This is impermeable; the snail will not lose any water during this period." and wondered...

"So if the snail doesn't like the smoggy air, it can just seal itself shut....?"

Is that so?

[coyote]

Molluscs are used for pollution monitoring activities all over the world. Non-native clams are intentionally implanted in one of my local creeks and are dug up later on for biologists to measure water pollution levels. IMO, it's an inhumane thing to do.

Snails can indeed seal themselves up for extended periods of time. I don't know how impermeable the seal is; certain chemicals are quite volatile and can penetrate surprisingly far. And the snail may simply absorb sufficient amounts of pollutants to give useful data to scientists prior to sealing up to justify using them.

The fact that Greenpeace was refused access to the area is of concern. What are they hiding?

I find it extremely hard to believe that they cannot use mechanical pollution monitors to achieve the same goal.

[snailysnuggles]

This is disgusting, I would send them down there to monitor the pollution. Sometimes I could kill when I hear of these things.

Jo xx

[ness]

It's that old debate I think. Is it worth using animals for any kind of health testing in order to save human lives, or to improve human lives? Personally I think it's arrogant to think that humans are the only creatures worthy of having any rights. I know there have been some major breakthroughs in medical science using animals but it still turns my stomach to think of how these results were acheived.
In this case there appears, on the face of it (if the data gained was reliable), to be a benefit to all human and none-human inhabitants of the area if pollutant levels are kept very low, and snails are known to be good indicators of polution as they easily absorb pollutants, though I've never heard of a snail being fitted with a heart monitor, and although on the face of it these snails are working (by force) for the benefit of all I really don't think the data will give any accurate results.

Using animals for any kind of health testing/product testing makes me uneasy at best, furious at worst, and these days I believe the majority of these projects can be undertaken without the use of animals. Let's not forget that as well as there being breakthroughs there have also been tragic mistakes from misleading results by using animals for research.

Is moitoring snails hearts for signs of pollution innovative? Perhaps it would be if there was any useful data. Is it ethical? Not in my opinion, from the information I have. It's not fair to deliberately put a creature in an environment that may poison it.

It's probably cheaper than buying electronic sensing equipment though, thus being more appealing in cost. However surely the electronic sensing equipment would give more reliable and precise data. I wouldn't want to rely on a snail's heart-rate to tell me if an area was polluted to any dangerous level.

And yes I suspect the snails may seal themselves in. This would probably show on their readings though as their hearts will slow down, and will probably be used as data.

I think this one is cruel, gimmicky unreliable and uneccesary.