The Trump administration has temporarily banned the import of cattle, horses and bison through ports along the tropical border due to the rapid northern spread of Mexican New World Screwworms (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.
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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 Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and US Customs Border Protection have restricted the import of live animal goods arising or passing from 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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Aerial photograph of a cow detained in a Chihuahua Regional Livestock Federation Pen at the Jeronimo Santa Teresa border crossing in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on November 27, 2024 (November 27, 2024).
“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. “The protection of our animals and the security of our country’s food supply are national security issues of utmost importance. When we see an increase in surveillance and eradication efforts and the positive consequences of those actions, we are committed to opening borders for livestock trade. This is not about Mexican politics or punishment.
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.
Greg Wehner is a news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and ideas can be sent to greg.wehner @fox.com and Twitter @gregwehner.
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