It is not an offence to disturb Roman snail or to damage or destroy breeding places or resting places of this species, however they are known to often move no more than 50m in their life so a licence is often needed to handle Roman snails as part of the mitigation. Possess a live or dead Roman snail if it was taken from the wild. Intentionally kill, injure or take (handle) the species Since 2008 Roman snail ( Helix pomatia) has been listed on Schedule 5 of The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and is protected in relation to Section 9 (1), (2) & (5) in England and Wales. Come spring this epiphragm is discarded when the snail emerges and their annual cycle of mating and laying eggs begins again. This is known as an epiphragm and it prevents the snail from desiccating over winter. Over the winter they hibernate and form a rigid calcium carbonate lid over the mouth of their shell.

Roman snails are active from late April – May until October each year. Roman snails are known to live up to 8 years in captivity so in the wild can be much less. Roman snails are the only species that form a calcified white structure over the mouth of the shell during the winter called an epiphragm. Shells can be variable in colour and some can have more prominent markings than others. They always have a narrow umbilicus (hole) visible and this can be useful feature for smaller specimens. Roman snails have a large shell (up to 5cm across) with a ridged texture, it may be striped but never has a zigzag pattern. In the UK they have a limited distribution and are mainly found in southern England with particular hotspots associated with the Chilterns, North Downs and Cotswolds. Roman snails are the largest terrestrial land snail in north-west Europe.

Snail mouth