Brixton Market

[t1zzzy]

oh right! sorry! LOL i know nothing!!!

[t1zzzy]

Have 4 Achatina fulica already but those guys look so cute! may need to go multi tank!!!

[rosiesnail2]

This website may give you an idea on the conditions: sites.google.com/site/brixtonsnails/
I think any one who can go there should try to buy atleast 1 because these poor things are being sold as food and crushed against one another. I for one want to try and help by buying one and helping it to get better but I'm not sure mum's going to let me too soon!

[PennyFarthing]

Are these being imported illegally? If they are, the RSPCA or somebody really should get involved. If Roman snails can be protected by law I don't see why vulnerable African snails can't, but I don't know what the situation is.

I hate to say it, but the best way to stop this cruelty would be to take some kind of stand. Buying the snails will only encourage them to sell more. I'm going to look at the legalities and get back to you.

[saki114]

Ive considered buying from brixton before, but now I realize they are abusing their snails. I definetly wont buy from brixton.

[PennyFarthing]

I can find nothing at all about selling snails in the UK. The only information I could find I already knew - that Roman snails are protected by law in the UK and we can't collect, keep or sell them. It's frustrating beyond words.

I don't know what action has been taken but I would suggest:

• Going to the police. If they're illegally imported, they should want to know about it.
  
• Contacting the RSPCA. They can TAKE the snails without having to pay for them, as well as take these people to court - it won't encourage them to import and sell more!
  
• Consider contacting someone like HM revenues and customs. They might not worry about animal rights (but may surprise you) but they'll want to know that these poor creatures are being smuggled in or not. At the very least, they'll give the sellers a hard time.
  

My sister also said that Greenpeace would probably take an interest and might even be more help than the RSPCA.

I hope that my suggestions help, even if only a little.

[PennyFarthing]

Saki, I really didn't mean that you just shouldn't buy them if that's all that can be done. I felt awful, pointing out that buying the poor things won't do any good in the long run. I was just trying to come up with alternatives that might do more good.

[saki114]

Its alright ;D

[morningcoffee]

Mar 4, 2012 15:59:41 GMT PennyFarthing said:

I can find nothing at all about selling snails in the UK. The only information I could find I already knew - that Roman snails are protected by law in the UK and we can't collect, keep or sell them. It's frustrating beyond words.

I don't know what action has been taken but I would suggest:

• Going to the police. If they're illegally imported, they should want to know about it.
  
• Contacting the RSPCA. They can TAKE the snails without having to pay for them, as well as take these people to court - it won't encourage them to import and sell more!
  
• Consider contacting someone like HM revenues and customs. They might not worry about animal rights (but may surprise you) but they'll want to know that these poor creatures are being smuggled in or not. At the very least, they'll give the sellers a hard time.
  

My sister also said that Greenpeace would probably take an interest and might even be more help than the RSPCA.

I hope that my suggestions help, even if only a little.

I live in the same London council area as Brixton, and in 2010 I contacted my local MP about the snails on sale at the markets. She contacted the councillor for Coldharbour Ward, where the markets are located, and she in turn contacted a local Food Safety Officer. I had this email forwarded from the Food Safety Team:


"Thank you for brining this matter to our attention.

Following your enquiry we liaised with a number of agencies to ensure that the matter is properly addressed. In terms of food safety, this is an area of much debate. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are the main agencies which provide us with guidance on how to deal with the importation and sale of African Land Snails. We have consulted with both the FSA and Defra but are still waiting for clarification. In general terms however, laws regarding food safety and what types of animals are permitted for human consumption are set at a European Community level. At a local level we would not be able to restrict the species or number of snails imported and sold in the borough.

In the meantime, the Food Safety Team has carried out a number of unannounced visits to food businesses in the Brixton area. Officers identified premises which they felt were likely to sell giant African Land Snails using their past experiences and local knowledge. At the time of the visits only one of the five premises had a small quantity of live African Land Snails displayed for sale. The Food Safety Officer, Mr Stradling did not have any immediate concerns regarding the safety and welfare of the snails however he discussed the safe handling of the snails with the staff at the premises. In addition to this a guidance letter was left on site for the owner’s attention.

In a second premise a small quantity of frozen snails, still in their shells, were displayed for sale. The owner was unable to provide suitable documentation to show that the snails had come from a legitimate source. As a consequence Mr Stradling deemed that the snails had been imported illegally and were not processed in accordance with current Hygiene Regulations. Mr Stradling therefore removed the snails from sale.

The owners of the remaining three premises advised us that they do offer giant African Land Snails for sale. Although they did not have any snails in stock at the time of the officer’s visits a guidance letter was left with each of the businesses for future reference.

The Food Safety Team has also liaised with the Council’s Animal Welfare department with a view to conducting joint working visits.

We will continue to monitor the situation and once we have clarification from the FSA and Defra will take appropriate enforcement action.

If your constituent has any further concerns it would be helpful if she contact the Food Safety Team directly, particularly if there is a specific premise for which there are concerns."



I go to Brixton regularly to buy cheap veg from the markets, so this year if I see snails on sale again, I am planning to take note of the store name and location and contact the Food Safety Team again. If they can take action against sellers who have imported the snails illegally, that will be less snails being brought into the UK to be sold.

If anybody goes to either of the Brixton covered markets in the meantime and finds snails on sale, please take note of the store name and location (the rows in the markets have "street" names) and let me know. I can forward the info to the local Food Safety Team.
Please do NOT be rude or unpleasant to any of the market sellers in Brixton if you are at the market. Bear in mind that for those of them with the correct documentation, importing and selling African snails is completely legal. Getting angry or abusive towards the sellers will not help the situation - if you want to try and make a real difference, you should consider writing a reasonable and carefully-worded email to your local MP. You can do that via this webpage: www.writetothem.com/

[PennyFarthing]

Morningcoffee, that's brilliant! Thanks for that post, it's really heartening.

[jessicamartin]

Glad that people are still concerned about this.
I really wish that I could travel there.

[pinkunicorn]

That's wonderful to hear.

The frozen snail option, as sad as it is to petkeepers still, it at least somewhat humane option. Dunno how the snails are frozen... if they're still in their shells it doesn't sound like they're processed like food items, though.

[brunni]

Good for you Coffee !
Through your MP you were able to get a response and it seems Food Safety Team is on the ground and taking action. If they went to my local market in Ghana they would have a fit !

[sallysnail]

I agree we should not buy these snails . Whilst it makes a difference to the ones you have bought the sellers just note that snails are selling particularly well and not only have they made money from their cruel treatment but another batch will then have to take their place. I think the RSPCA will take action if snails are being crushed or stored inhumanely (I have known them do so at restaurant who stocked live fish in bad conditions). If they are GALS it is worth pointing out to the RSPCA that they should have a source of warmth if kept outside. As a vegetarian I find it hard to accept that anyone would want to eat snails but if people are entitled to do so the snails must at least be treated humanely until that time comes. The right kind of action is what gets results.

[graemepryce]

I'd like to add another larger species snail to my tank and I love the idea of having one that has been rescued and avoided the the food trade. I have watched a video about how to cook GALS and as a person that knows they feel pain and have curiosity and awareness it was pretty barbaric.

I wouldn't be able to pay very much but if someone could get me one from the market, keep him a few days to make sure he's lively and free of mites and then send him to me I'd be really grateful, because as much as I'd like to do it myself, I have no chance of finding anywhere selling GALS as food where I am!

If anybody goes on a mercy mission and gets one they would part with PM me please!

Thanks

[graemepryce]

Hey, just read through this thread again. I had just skipped to the end and put my comment in before reading really.

I'm amazed at that result in the letter above. That is really good, I thought you would say they had just made note of it and not taken any action. I'm surprised but pleased as well. I would rather the situation be that the only GALS of any kind that were on sale in the UK were the ones sold as pets. I'm not in favour of stores with a big plastic bucket of poor snails, all either hiding in discomfort, moving around in the rotting remains of their colony in the bottom of the container or the way they are prepared for cooking. It is rather barbaric.

But - we must remember that people have eaten snails since the first records of the foods that our ancient ancestors snacked upon. If they were comfortably packed, clean, healthy and all well alive when they are on sale I wouldn't like it but I would just have to accept it. The reason I feel like I would like to 'rescue' one of these fella's is because they are already here and WILL either die or be eaten.

I whole-heartedly agree with you now though. Buying them is further perpetuating the future misery of snails because the shop owners will think there is a demand. Who knows how many shops the inspector didn't check, or how many market stalls just occasionaly have a big bucket of stinking, mostly dying or dead snails?

I am in Runcorn near Liverpool though so I'm unlikely to ever see any being sold here.

My offer to take one from anyone who goes and rescues some still stands but please don't ignore the advice above.

Cheers