Texas Officials Ask Hunters and Ranchers to Help Stop Spread of New World Screwworm
The USDA has confirmed New World screwworm in an elk on a Texas game ranch, prompting federal and state officials to enlist hunters and ranchers in surveillance efforts.
Federal and state officials are asking hunters and ranchers in Texas to help stop the spread of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that can harm livestock, after the pest was found in an elk on a game ranch in Pecos County. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday that the infestation was discovered after a hunter reported the animal following its harvest.
The USDA and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are expanding wildlife surveillance in the area, while the Texas Animal Health Commission plans to modify an existing infested zone. Officials say the elk is the first confirmed U.S. wildlife case in the current outbreak, a development that has shifted attention toward hunters and landowners who spend time in affected areas.
"Hunters and others who spend time outdoors near infested areas are often among the first people to encounter affected wildlife, making their observations especially valuable to surveillance and response efforts," the USDA said in a statement. The agency encouraged hunters to remain alert for signs of the parasite while observing, harvesting or processing wildlife as hunting seasons continue across Texas and other states.
Hunters have been advised to watch for visible maggots in wounds or body openings, open or enlarging wounds, foul-smelling injuries, and animals that appear weak or distressed. Infection signs around the nose, mouth, ears, eyes or genital areas also warrant attention, the agency said. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department urged hunters to inspect animals before field dressing or moving them, and to watch for irritated or depressed behavior, loss of appetite, head shaking, a smell of decaying flesh or unusual isolation.
Texas wildlife division director Alan Cain credited collaboration between state biologists and local hunters and landowners for speeding up the identification of the new detection. "The partnership between TPWD biologists and local hunters and landowners expedited the identification and confirmation of this new detection," Cain said in a statement.
The Texas case is part of a broader outbreak that has affected the livestock industry. New World screwworm was eliminated from the United States decades ago, but the parasite has been moving north through Central America and Mexico. Last year, the U.S. halted livestock imports from Mexico to keep it out. That pause lasted more than a year, straining cattle supply and contributing to record-high beef prices, and reopening began in stages in August.
In June, officials confirmed the parasite in a Texas calf and later detected it in other animals, including a horse and a dog. New Mexico authorities also reported screwworm in a beef cow this week and established an infested zone around the animal. Animals within that zone must be inspected and, if necessary, treated before being moved.
The parasite poses a threat to animal health and meat production, though the USDA says it does not affect food safety. In a June statement, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said it was working with state partners to combat screwworm and praised federal eradication efforts, including expanded fly surveillance, cattle treatments and sterile-fly releases.
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