The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) and many others in the hunting, conservation and ranching communities are concerned about a recent outbreak of New World screwworm in Mexico that is quickly moving north towards the U.S. This parasite is devastating to livestock and native wildlife and WSF strongly supports legislation being proposed to prevent and mitigate this infestation.
The New World Screwworm (NWS) is a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on livestock, wildlife, and in rare cases, humans, and populations are moving toward the United States at an alarming rate. They can cause serious damage to their host, including death. This week, the USDA announced the suspension of live cattle, horse, and bison imports through the southern border in response to the growing spread of the NWS and recent outbreaks in Mexico.
A Strengthening Tactics to Obstruct the Population of Screwworms (STOP Screwworms) Act is being introduced by U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23).
“As a life-long resident of Texas, this one hit home for me,” commented Corey Mason WSF’s Exec. VP of Conservation & COO. “I recall the horror stories from the last outbreak back in the 1960s and with our recent efforts to re-establish desert bighorn sheep in Texas, not to mention what this means for cattle, mule deer and whitetail deer, this situation must be dealt with swiftly.
“NWS not only affects the cattle industry in Texas but will have detrimental effects on our native wildlife as well. The Desert Bighorn Sheep (DBS) population in Texas has suffered devastating die offs recently from exotic invasive aoudad. A NWS infestation would have catastrophic effects on the remaining population, potentially extirpating the species entirely.” stated Sam Cunningham, WSF Director and President of Texas Bighorn Society.