Mishap freezes to death 800 rare New Zealand snails

Conservationists in New Zealand have blamed a technical glitch after 800 endangered giant land snails were accidentally frozen to death.

The rare snails, rescued from an area earmarked for coal mining, were kept in a temperature-controlled room run by the Department of Conservation (DoC).

However, a faulty gauge sent temperatures plunging below freezing.

Staff at the DoC's West Coast Conservancy in Hokitika are said to have been "very upset".   More Read