The Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) reported the interception of an exotic quarantine pest during a port inspection carried out in San Antonio. The detected invertebrate is subject to phytosanitary measures to prevent its entry, establishment, and potential economic damage to the country.
“During a port inspection of vehicles arriving from China, the Border Control team of SAG San Antonio managed to intercept dozens of exotic snails of the species Cathaica fasciola, an aggressive pest, which is absent from the national territory,” the government agency reported.
Cathaica fasciola is a land snail native to Asia, especially China, with no established presence in Chile. Its entry could affect agricultural crops and also act as a vector for diseases.
This is not the first time the interception of this pest has been reported. A similar case took place on December 6, 2024, when three specimens were detected on board a ship arriving from China, which docked at one of the terminals located in the Bio Bio Region.
Finally, it is worth remembering that at the end of October of this year, the presence of eggs of the pest Lymantria dispar, a genus of moths belonging to the family Erebidae, was identified inside a ship that arrived in San Antonio.
