Mexico resumes cattle exports to U.S. after screwworm scare

Mexico volition resume cattle exports to the United States starting this week, pursuing a memorandum of knowing signed betwixt some countries.

Exports were halted astatine the extremity of past year owed to respective cases of New World screwworm infections recovered successful cattle successful confederate Mexico.

The larvae of the New World screwworm alert infect mammals by burrowing into unfastened wounds. (University of Florida)

Screwworm is an infestation caused by the larvae of the fly Cochliomyia hominivorax, which provender connected the surviving insubstantial of mammals. An outbreak of the deadly parasite is ongoing successful Central American cattle, but earlier past November it had not precocious been detected successful Mexico.

Following the archetypal cases of screwworm successful Mexico, U.S. authorities cancelled exports and suspended the full livestock assemblage successful the country, which has been incapable to determination its animals for much than 70 days.

Rogelio Soto, president of the Durango Regional Livestock Union, estimates that the blockade of the past 3 months outgo Mexican cattle farmers immoderate US $312 cardinal successful mislaid income.

Over 200,000 cattle stranded astatine the Mexico-U.S. border

The statement signed by the U.S. and Mexico, sets retired stricter power measures and importantly reduces the fig of calves that tin participate the U.S. per day. Before the screwworm crisis, immoderate 2,800 calves were passed done each quarantine presumption daily. Now, that fig has been reduced to astir 500.

Estimates amusement that arsenic of Thursday, immoderate 240,000 heads of cattle were stranded connected the Mexican borderline waiting to transverse to the U.S.

So far, lone 2 states person been authorized to resume crossings: the quarantine presumption successful San Jerónimo, Chihuahua, is present unfastened and the quarantine stationsin Agua Prieta and Nogales, Sonora, are expected to unfastened Friday. Several different locations are inactive awaiting a caller statement to resume exports. This includes the Piedras Negras presumption successful Coahuila and the authorities of Durango, which is waiting to export its cattle done the Oginaga presumption successful Chihuahua.

The caller protocol created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture requires that USDA-approved holding pens beryllium used, wherever U.S. inspectors volition analyse cattle earlier they transverse the border. It besides requires each cattle to acquisition deworming with ivermectin astatine slightest 1 week anterior to crossing, and a thorough inspection to guarantee the cattle is escaped of wounds.

According to Soto, the caller export statement conditions volition negatively interaction the sector.

Our strongest and astir reliable instrumentality for eradication of New World screwworm is done sterile insect technique. The sterile antheral screwworm alert mates with fertile pistillate screwworm fly, causing the colonisation of screwworm flies to alteration until it yet dies out.#USDA #APHIS pic.twitter.com/LbsGoEhTnN

— USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (@USDA_APHIS) December 12, 2024

“[The caller protocol] volition dilatory america down, meaning that we volition person little revenue,” Soto told paper El País.

​​Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila are the states astir profoundly affected by the closure of exports, though Veracruz, Jalisco and Michoacán person besides seen impacts. Livestock organizations are demanding that the Mexican authorities temporarily adjacent the borderline with Guatemala and Belize, the main blistery spots for cattle smuggling successful the state and the astir apt introduction constituent for screwworm, which is wide successful Central America.

In the past year, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala person raised the alarm with much than 40,000 cases detected, though determination could beryllium galore more.

With reports from El País and El Economista