Group Warns Against US Decision to Reopen Border to Mexican Cattle Amid Screwworm Outbreak

The USDA will allow Mexican cattle, bison, and horses back into Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas over the next few months.

Carlos Carreron brings cattle through a gate in the border fence from Mexico into the United States at the Santa Teresa International Export/Import livestock crossing in Santa Teresa, N.M., on June 5, 2019. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A cattle industry group is speaking out against the federal government’s decision to reopen the southwest border to Mexican cattle imports, saying the risk is too high in light of the New World screwworm outbreak.

R-CALF USA, a cattle producer-only trade association, is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to delay reopening the border to Mexican cattle this month until the screwworm is fully eradicated.

Bill Bullard, the Montana-based group’s chief executive officer, said on X that it was “Big Ag’s” desire for a cheap supply of beef from Mexico that was behind the push to reopen cattle imports.

“We must sever our nation’s dependency on foreign supply chains for our food, and by prioritizing the health of our U.S. cattle herd, the marketplace will help us rebuild and strengthen our domestic beef supply chain,” Bullard said.

Mexico and the United States agreed to reopen the U.S. border at Douglas, Arizona, as soon as July 7 to cattle, bison, and horse imports from Mexico.

New Mexico is slated to reopen imports at Columbus on July 14 and Santa Teresa on July 21, while Texas is scheduled to reopen at Del Rio on Aug. 18 and Laredo on Sept. 15.

Dr. Michael Vickers, a longtime veterinarian who served on the Texas Animal Health Commission, called the screwworm invasion that moved up from Central America to Mexico a catastrophic threat to the U.S. food supply.

“If these screwworms get into South Texas and other states, it could be a devastating biosecurity issue affecting our food supply,” Vickers told The Epoch Times.

Screwworm infestations begin when a female fly lays eggs on a wound or the mucus membranes of mammals, including humans.

Eggs hatch into larvae, or maggots, that burrow into the flesh of animals and eat them alive.

If screwworms infect U.S. cattle, all countries will impose a quarantine, dealing a major blow to the U.S. beef industry, Vickers said.

“We won’t be able to sell them, creating a huge economic setback.”

Vickers recalled that, during a screwworm outbreak in Texas in 1973, one of his clients “lost over 500 newborn calves in a matter of a couple of weeks.”

Some 50 years ago, the outbreak spread to neighboring states, with 90,000 cases reported in Texas alone.

U.S. agriculture officials suspended imports in May as the screwworm infestations in Mexico spread northward.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote in a June 30 X post that progress had been made in controlling the outbreak. With 100 million sterile flies being dispersed weekly, she said the “devastating pest” had not progressed northward in eight weeks.

Rollins opened an $8.5 million facility in South Texas to release millions of sterile flies in a bid to stop the flesh-eating parasites that have been infecting Mexican cattle from reaching the United States, according to a June 18 statement.

According to the USDA, five teams were dispatched to observe and evaluate Mexico’s response and share feedback as part of the process to reopen imports.

“These quick actions by the Trump Administration have improved the conditions to allow the phased reopening of select ports on the Southern Border to livestock trade,” Rollins stated.

“We are continuing our posture of increased vigilance and will not rest until we are sure this devastating pest will not harm American ranchers.”

Others in the cattle industry applauded the reopening, including Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

Miller said in a June statement that the USDA made a smart decision based on data.

“Agricultural producers and our rural economies depend on this cross-border commerce, and reopening our ports with strong, science-based protocols in place is the right decision,” he said.

“Hats off to Secretary Rollins for getting this done for our ranchers across the nation.”

In November, the United States restricted Mexican cattle shipments after the pest’s detection, but lifted the ban in February after protocols were established to evaluate animals before allowing entry into the country.

However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced another suspension in May after an “unacceptable northward advancement” of the screwworm.