House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, along with 79 bipartisan House colleagues, has sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. The letter encourages the use of authorities provided by the Animal Health Protection Act to establish a domestic sterile fly facility. This is part of broader efforts by the USDA to combat and eradicate New World Screwworm (NWS).
“As you know, NWS is a devastating pest that causes serious and often deadly damage to livestock, wildlife, pets, and in rare cases, humans,” the letter states. Although NWS has been eradicated from the United States for decades, recent detections in Mexico have raised concerns about its potential impact on domestic livestock and financial viability for farmers and ranchers.
The letter highlights historical data from Texas where a contemporary outbreak could cost producers $732 million annually and result in a $1.8 billion loss to the Texas economy. If extrapolated to other states within NWS’s historic range before eradication, an outbreak could cost producers $4.3 billion per year and cause an economic loss exceeding $10.6 billion.
“Our producers cannot afford a NWS outbreak that decimates herds, causes financial losses, increases grocery prices, and threatens overall food security,” the letter continues. It emphasizes the urgency of starting work on a domestic sterile fly facility immediately.
“It will cost our producers and USDA far more to eradicate NWS in the U.S. than preventing its reentry,” notes Thompson’s statement. The request includes initiating an immediate transfer of funds for constructing such a facility.
“Our country has fought NWS before, and we must do so again – our producers livelihoods depend on it,” concludes the communication to Secretary Rollins.
