USDA will allow cattle imports to resume from Mexico under a pre-clearance inspection and treatment protocol for New World screwworm, the department said Saturday.
Imports of cattle and bison from Mexico have been blocked since November when the parasite was discovered in southern Mexico. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said in a release that imports would “resume within the next several days.”
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The protocol that USDA and Mexico agreed to includes the establishment of pre-export inspection pens in San Jeronimo, Chihuahua, and Agua Prieta, Sonora. Animals will be inspected and treated for screwworm before entering the pens and then will later be inspected by Mexican officials before heading to a final APHIS inspection at the Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and Douglas, Arizona, ports of entry.
“Cattle and bison approved for importation will also be dipped in a solution to ensure they are otherwise insect- and tick -free,” the release said.
The release said the two countries are working to open additional pre-export inspection pens.
The ban on imports of Mexican cattle has contributed to constricting U.S. cattle supplies, keeping cattle and beef prices at historically high levels.
