Announced: Border Must Remain Closed

The New World screwworm could devastate America’s cattle industry, cripple Texas agriculture, and it’s moving closer to our border, with recent reports revealing it is now just 370 miles away.

In a recent joint press conference at the Texas Capitol, Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins laid out a fourpronged strategy to confront this threat head-on. This builds on a previously announced fivepronged approach.

“We are doing everything we can to stop it,” said Rollins.

Abbott stated that Texas and America will face dire consequences if action is not taken stating that the threat would, “crush the cattle industry” and cost billions a year in economic losses across Texas industries.

The announcement included the construction of a $750 million sterile fly facility in Edinburg, and would triple current production to 300 million sterile flies each week, while creating 300 jobs. An additional $100 million is to be invested in cutting edge technology employed from the public in exploration of new ideas to mitigate the fly’s production and movement.

USDA will also hire additional “tick riders” to patrol the US/Mexico border and expand surveillance with APHIS’s Beagle Brigade. Finally, renewed cooperation with Mexico’s agriculture officials will strengthen cross-border oversight, stop animal movement from infected zones and put USDA experts on the ground in Mexico.

We know eradication is possible and Rollins emphasized continued collaboration with state governments, private stakeholders, and federal agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, to implement countermeasures such as medications to combat the threat.

In June, Abbott directed Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas Animal Health Commission to collaborate in establishing a joint Texas New World Screwworm Response Team that would lead local, state and federal teams in prevention and response, reiterating the role Texas plays in the eradication of the pest.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller also was in attendance at the press conference and praised the announcement. “I was pleased to welcome my friend, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, back to Texas and applaud her commitment to fight the New World Screwworm threat that puts our state’s $30 billion livestock industry in jeopardy,” Miller said. “Her announcement about USDA’s plans to construct a new sterile fly production facility in South Texas is welcome news. I will continue to work side by side with Secretary Rollins to develop the tools necessary to combat this insidious threat and protect our ag industry and all who depend on it.”

While the Trump Administration’s continued efforts to combat the New World screwworm should be applauded, these efforts take time to implement. The southern border must remain closed until Mexico proves the screwworm has been eradicated. American ranching families must come first. This is a national security issue and cannot be ignored.