The US closes its southern border to livestock imports to stop the fatal flies spreading
The Trump administration has temporarily banned the import of cattle, horses and bison through ports along the southern border due to the rapid northern spread of the New World Mexican screwworm (NWS).
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the suspension on the X-Post Sunday.
“Due to the threat of screw worms in the New World, I am announcing the immediate import of live cows, horses and bison through ports at the tropical border of the US,” she writes. “It took our cattle industry 30 years to recover when this devastating pest invaded America. This cannot happen again.”
In a press release, the USDA said that the first case of the Mexico NWS was reported to the US in November 2024.
The problem is that when the NWS digs holes in the meat of live animals, they can cause serious and fatal damage to the animals, the USDA said. NWS maggot species include pets, livestock, wildlife, birds, and in rare cases humans.
According to the USDA, the NWS was recently detected on a remote farm with minimal movement of cattle, about 700 miles north of the US border.
The US and Mexico are working together to eradicate NW before the deadly parasitic fly moves towards the southern border.
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Screw bug fly, Cochliomyia hominivorax. (Iowa State University)
According to the USDA, the agency’s Animal Factory Health Inspection Service (APHIS) was implemented immediately. US Customs and Border Security It restricts the import of live animal goods that are sent or passed through Mexico.
The suspension continues monthly until “a critical window of containment is achieved,” USDA said.
The livestock currently being held for entry into the US will be successfully processed, the USDA adds, and will be inspected by a port veterinary medical officer and treated to ensure that the NW is not being carried.
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An air view of a cow detained by a federal livestock federation pen in the Chihuahua region at the Jeronimo Santa Teresa border crossing in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on November 27, 2024. (Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Secretary Berdegué and I have been working closely with the NWS, but it is my duty to take all steps within my control to protect the US livestock industry from this devastating pest,” Rollins said of the work she did at her Mexican counterpart. “Conservation of our animals and our safety National food supply This is the most important national security issue. It is working to open borders for livestock trade when increasing surveillance and eradication efforts and positive consequences of their actions are seen. This is not about Mexican politics or punishment, but rather about food and animal safety. ”
The US and Mexico have adopted three approaches to achieving NW eradication, including field surveillance with education and outreach, ensuring prevention, treatment and early detection. This approach also involves controlling animal movements that limit the spread of NWS and sustain the dispersion of sterile insects.
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This is not the first time that the need to eradicate the NWS has arisen. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the NWS was eradicated in the US in the 1960s and in Mexico in the 1970s.
However, eradicating deadly worms cost billions of dollars and took decades.