FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION

DA-2021-37

December 22, 2021

Subject: APHIS Declares Eradication of the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica,

formally Achatina fulica) and Removes All Quarantine Areas in Florida

To: State and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials

Effective September 30, 2021, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) declared

eradication of the giant African snail (GAS) in Florida and removed all quarantine areas for 

GAS. APHIS and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) 

conducted extensive large-scale surveys, control, outreach, and regulatory efforts and found 

Broward and Miami-Dade Counties free of GAS for three consecutive years. Therefore, APHIS 

is releasing the final three zones, E, X, and Z, and all other areas in the counties that have been 

under regulation since April 2012. 

On September 9, 2011, APHIS confirmed the first detection of GAS in a residential area in 

Miami, Florida. In April 2012, APHIS issued Federal Order DA-2012-1 that established the 

requirements of the regulatory actions and quarantine borders. Since then, a series of letters to 

the State and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials (SPRO) have refined the program that 

led to the eradication of GAS.

Consequently, APHIS is declaring eradication of GAS, and is rescinding the Federal Order and

all the SPRO Letters that regulated the GAS infestation in Florida. 

Information about the GAS program can be found on the following designated website:

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-health/gas

For additional information regarding the GAS program, please contact the National Operations 

Manager, Melinda Sullivan, at (970) 494-7580.

Dr. Osama El-Lissy

Deputy Administrator

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Attachment: Federal Order
United States Department of Agriculture

Animal Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Federal Order

Removal of Domestic Quarantine for Giant African Snail

(Lissachatina fulica, formally Achatina fulica)

DA-2021-37

December 22, 2021

This Federal Order removes the previously quarantined counties of Broward and Miami-Dade, 

Florida, from the quarantine for giant African snail (GAS; Lissachatina fulica, formally Achatina 

fulica).

This Federal Order is issued in accordance with the regulatory authority provided by the Plant 

Protection Act of June 20, 2000, as amended, Section 412(a), 7 U.S.C. 7712(a). The Act 

authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit or restrict the movement in interstate 

commerce of any plant, plant part, or article, if the Secretary determines the prohibition or 

restriction is necessary to prevent the dissemination of a plant pest within the United States. This 

Federal Order is also issued pursuant to the regulations promulgated under the Plant Protection 

Act found at 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §301.74 et seq. 

Requirements for GAS were first promulgated in 2012 due to the detection of this exotic snail in 

Miami, Florida. GAS is one of the most damaging snails globally and is known to consume at 

least 500 different plant species, including vegetables, fruits, and ornamental crops. It can also 

vector serious diseases that can affect humans, livestock, and some plant pathogens. Since the 

initial detection, APHIS partnered with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer 

Services (FDACS) and worked closely with the affected counties, industry, and other 

stakeholders to eradicate this pest in Florida. 

Based on three consecutive years of negative surveys within the quarantine areas, the APHIS 

Administrator has determined GAS to be eradicated in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, 

Florida. Accordingly, the Administrator has determined that a federal quarantine for GAS is no 

longer necessary in the aforementioned areas. Effective immediately, this Federal Order removes 

GAS quarantine from Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.

For additional information regarding the GAS program, please contact the National Operations 

Manager, Melinda Sullivan, at (970) 494-7580.