TX Lawmakers Propose Bill to Fight NWS

REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- The spread of New World screwworm (NWS) closed the border for cattle coming into the U.S. from Mexico on May 11 and has led to the introduction of the STOP Screwworms Act to fund opening a sterile fly facility in the U.S.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, aims to protect livestock and human health by bringing a facility to the United States to produce sterile NWS flies. In 1994, the Panama-United States Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Screwworm (COPEG) was formed to help deal with this devastating pest. COPEG mass-rears and sterilizes millions of NWS at a biosecure facility in Panama. The sterile pupae grow to adults to be distributed via a special aircraft, according to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Some of the sterile pupae are also received at dispersal centers in other areas of Mexico, Central America and Latin America.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT FOR FACILITY

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) supports the development of a sterile fly facility in the U.S. due to the movement of NWS farther north in Mexico.

"When I was growing up, I heard stories of how damaging the New World screwworm was to our cattle before it was eradicated in the 1960s. I never want to see that kind of devastation return to our country," NCBA President Buck Wehrbein, a Nebraska cattleman, said in a news release. "That is why the National Cattlemen's Beef Association is supporting the STOP Screwworms Act so we can construct a sterile fly facility in the United States that will help us prevent this pest from ever returning to our country."

NCBA was in support of the border closing to Mexican shipments of cattle, horses and bison to protect U.S. agriculture. The long-term eradication of the pest requires the sterile-insect technique. The current facility in Panama has a hard time keeping up with production and another facility would help prevent the spread.

"To protect American agriculture, NCBA strongly supports the creation of a new sterile fly facility within the United States," NCBA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane said in the release. "We also appreciate the hard work of NCBA state affiliates in ensuring that members of Congress closest to the southern border understand the severity of this threat."

STERILE FLIES HELP WITH PREVENTION

Since the NWS flies only mate once, releasing sterile males to mate with the females helps reduce the population.

USDA eradicated NWS from the U.S. in 1966 using the sterile insect technique, and it was used successfully again in 2016 in the southern Florida Keys when found in deer. This process has been used in Mexico and Latin America with the current outbreak.

Trade restrictions remain in place for live cattle, bison and horses from Mexico through land border ports. Horses can continue to be imported by air, according to an APHIS release. Importation of bovine germplasm, sheep and goats and their germplasm, and swine and their germplasm from Mexico remains prohibited as well. USDA continues to monitor the border for livestock and wildlife in the region and the presence of NWS.

See more from DTN:

-- "NWS Closer: Border Closed for Animals," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "NWS Agreement Keeps Cattle Imports Open," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "Rollins Warns Mexico Over Screwworm," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

-- "APHIS Expands Biological Barrier Into Mexico to Help Prevent Screwworm Spread," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

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