Skip to content

Snails saved from escargot fate thanks to rescuer

Stuart Woodward/BBC Connor Bouttell, wearing a black hoodie and holding a large snail in the palm of his hand. He has short brown hair and is smiling at the camera. The background, which is blurred, shows a residential scene with houses.Stuart Woodward/BBC
Connor Bouttell said he could not bear to think of the snails being boiled alive for someone's dinner

More than 200 snails have been rescued from their fate as a French delicacy thanks to a gastropod enthusiast.

Connor Bouttell received the shelled creatures in the post after learning they were destined to become escargot.

They were added to his not-so-sluggish collection, which has taken over two of the three bedrooms at his family home in Witham, Essex.

"It makes me really happy that they won't end up boiling in a pot," the 18-year-old said.

He said he had been contacted by a farm in Northern Ireland that told him 200 of its snails were either going to be killed or sold to restaurants.

Thankfully, Mr Bouttell deemed himself to be the perfect man for the job of giving them a new home.

Connor Bouttell A large snail sitting on the palm of Mr Bouttell's hand, which is covered by a blue glove. They are both outside.Connor Bouttell
Some of the snails in Mr Bouttell's huge collection are bigger than his hand

"I make custom enclosures for them... We've got a three-bed house and they take up the best part of two of the rooms," he told BBC News.

"A lot of my friends like to come over and see it all for themselves, because I've got them in naturalistic set-ups."

The teenager said despite the novelty of his snail-mail, some deliveries could end in heartache.

"It's actually horrific, if I'm honest. You get quite a lot of snails that are crushed but still alive," he said.

"Then it's a case of putting them on end-of-life care and separating the alive from the dead.

"When there's nothing I can do for them, it's usually mum who does the dispatching part as I just can't look."

Connor Bouttell Connor Bouttell holding a large snail, which is bigger than his hand, up to a camera. He is younger than in the other picture of him and has a brown fringe and headphones around his neck. He is wearing a white T-shirt.Connor Bouttell
Connor Bouttell has been caring for snails since the age of 10

Mr Bouttell said he was often contacted by London Stansted Airport when its bemused border officers had confiscated snails.

His growing presence in the world of molluscs could quite often leave him inundated with requests for help, he added.

The enthusiast started caring for snails aged 10 and later invited snakes, tortoises and all kinds of creepy crawlies into the family home.

Having finished secondary school, Mr Bouttell set up his snail rescue charity, The Shelled Sanctuary, and said the work was his "mission" in life.

Connor Bouttell A large snail perched on a piece of bark in Connor Bouttell's vivarium tank. In the background is another snail, small plants, bark and mud.Connor Bouttell
The snail enthusiast has appealed for unwanted vegetables

On Wednesday, he appealed for supermarkets with "wonky" vegetables to send them his way for the snails.

Posting on social media, he added: "I thought it would be a great way to reduce food waste while feeding the sanctuary snails."

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

More on this story
BBC Sounds