Council tells snail racers to escargot-away

Council tells snail racers to escargot-away4 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMaddy BullNottinghamBBCThe race was due to go ahead on WednesdayA council has put a stop to a snail race over complaints from animal rights activists.The event - which encouraged members of the public to find a snail and transport it to Nottingham Central Library - was due to go ahead on Wednesday.The Nottingham Animal Coalition, one of the campaign groups which led calls to cancel the race, described it as "unnecessary".Nottingham City Council said although it intended the demonstrations to be "light-hearted" and "educational", it had taken all of the feedback seriously and would never knowingly host an activity that could cause distress to animals.Kerry Kane said her biggest worry was that people had been asked to bring in their own snailsKerry Kane, 33, a member of the Nottingham Animal Coalition, said she was shocked to see the event being advertised."If we want to teach children about snails, about biodiversity, about what we can find in our gardens, then we can do so from our gardens or use books and videos."It's not a human need to race a snail," she said.Kane added her biggest concern was that members of the public had been asked to find and bring in their own snails."It was really irresponsible because of the potential injury you could cause to a snail by picking it up wrong," she said. "There was no information explaining how to do it properly."You have to gently tap or stroke the shell, so the snail's foot retracts, and then it's safe to remove them and then place them in the direction they were going in."There's no need to pick a snail up by its shell, because pulling at it from its shell can cause damage and injury."Nottingham City Council has apologised to anyone who found the planned activity at Nottingham Central Library upsettingAngus Davison, an evolutionary biologist...