
Client: Private individual
Start / Finish Dates: September - November 2019
Adi Associates was commissioned to prepare a Project Description Statement (PDS) for the proposal of a snail farm.
Snail farming, which is also known as heliciculture, is the production of snails for various uses that include human consumption, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and animal feeds. There is high demand for snail meat worldwide. Only a small percentage of snail meat consumed around the world originates from breeding farms. Most of the snails are collected.
The snail farm will operate from three greenhouses and the operator will adopt a curtain breeding method. The breeding units will consist of wooden planks supported by steel bars within pans. The edges of the pan will have a low voltage electric fence to ensure that there are no escapes. The curtains will be affixed to the bottom of the wooden plank. This system takes into account the snail behaviour. The curtains will be used by the snails to mate, live and grow. The snail is only active during the night when it moves to the top surface of the wooden plank to eat. Thus, most of the snail excreta will also be found on the wooden planks. On the other hand, during the day the snail moves to the underside of the planks or on the curtains to sleep. This behaviour facilitates a more efficient feeding of the snails and adequate cleaning of the breeding units.