WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins has announced risk-based port re-openings for cattle, bison and equines from Mexico beginning as early as July 7. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, following extensive collaboration between USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, experts and their counterparts in Mexico to increase New World Screwworm surveillance, detection and eradication efforts, are set to begin a phased reopening of the southern ports starting with Douglas, Arizona.
Progress has been made in several critical areas since the ports were closed May 11, including: resolution of challenges with conducting flights in Mexico that has allowed our team to consistently conduct sterile NWS fly dispersal seven days a week and dispersal of more than 100 million flies each week. We also sent five teams of APHIS staff to visit/observe and gain a deeper understanding of Mexico’s NWS response and allow us the opportunity to share our feedback. We have not seen a notable increase in reported NWS cases in Mexico, nor any northward movement of NWS over the past eight weeks.
“At USDA we are focused on fighting the New World Screwworm’s advancement in Mexico. We have made good progress with our counterparts in Mexico to increase vital pest surveillance efforts and have improved the conditions to allow the phased reopening of select ports on the Southern Border to livestock trade,” said Rollins.