U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Wednesday that the U.S. is not yet ready to lift the Mexican cattle import ban [1].
The decision comes as federal officials scramble to contain the New World screwworm, a parasite that causes severe damage to livestock and threatens the domestic agricultural economy.
Testifying before the Senate Agriculture Committee in Washington, D.C., on June 10, 2024 [1], Rollins outlined the federal response to the parasite's resurgence. The New World screwworm had been eliminated from the United States since the 1960s [2].
Recent detections in Texas have triggered the emergency response. A USDA spokesperson said two new cases were found in a calf and a dog located hundreds of miles apart in Texas [3].
Rollins said the parasite is a "little pest" during the hearing [4]. However, she emphasized that the risk to the livestock industry remains significant. She said the United States is not yet ready to reopen its border to Mexican cattle amid an outbreak of the flesh‑eating New World screwworm parasite [5].
The USDA's strategy involves monitoring and containment to prevent the parasite from spreading further into the U.S. livestock population. The parasite is known for burrowing into the living flesh of warm-blooded animals, creating open wounds that can lead to secondary infections, or death if left untreated.
Rollins said the importance of maintaining strict import controls until the situation is stabilized. The ban on Mexican cattle serves as a primary defense mechanism to ensure that the parasite does not gain a wider foothold in the American cattle industry [5].
“"The United States is not yet ready to reopen its border to Mexican cattle amid an outbreak of the flesh‑eating New World screwworm parasite."”
The decision to maintain the import ban underscores the high economic and biological stakes of livestock health. Because the New World screwworm can devastate herds and disrupt trade, the USDA is prioritizing a 'zero-tolerance' containment strategy. The distance between the two cases in Texas suggests the parasite may have already established a wider presence than initially feared, making the border restrictions a critical component of the eradication effort.
