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Mexico to US livestock trade halted due to screwworm spread

usda.gov

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Re: Mexico to US livestock trade halted due to screwworm spread

#22

A story from 2020 about how effective the US funded anti-screwworm program used to be. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/05/flesh-ea... Archive link: https://archive.ph/3sD9d

Why is it "used to be"? I've heard about the program before and thought it was incredible. What happened to it? Edit: Brief research tells me the screwworms broke though to Mexico in November 2024 after cases started increasing north of the Darian Gap throughout 2023 ( https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/program-update/new-world-scr... ). It does seem like the funding now is happening through USDA rather than USAID ( htt…

DOGE. It was ran by USAID.

Re: Mexico to US livestock trade halted due to screwworm spread

#26
The US successfully eradicated screwworms here in 1966 with a brilliant integrated sterile insect technique - I think the very first use of it (and had previously funded helping other countries control it also). But if we had another outbreak spread, I doubt there's any shred of competence left in this current gutted federal government to do anything like that again. Maybe they can have the new ICE folks try to deport the screwworm flies.

Re: Mexico to US livestock trade halted due to screwworm spread

#27

A story from 2020 about how effective the US funded anti-screwworm program used to be. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/05/flesh-ea... Archive link: https://archive.ph/3sD9d

Why is it "used to be"? I've heard about the program before and thought it was incredible. What happened to it? Edit: Brief research tells me the screwworms broke though to Mexico in November 2024 after cases started increasing north of the Darian Gap throughout 2023 ( https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/program-update/new-world-scr... ). It does seem like the funding now is happening through USDA rather than USAID ( htt…

Yeah, it got cut back in March.

https://kbhbradio.com/usda-cuts-budget-staff-for-animal-dise...

Part of it was restored a couple of months later.

Re: Mexico to US livestock trade halted due to screwworm spread

#28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it "used to be"? I've heard about the program before and thought it was incredible. What happened to it? Edit: Brief research tells me the screwworms broke though to Mexico in November 2024 after cases started increasing north of the Darian Gap throughout 2023 ( https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/program-update/new-world-scr... ). It does seem like the funding now is happening through USDA rather than USAID ( htt…

DOGE. It was ran by USAID.

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Re: Mexico to US livestock trade halted due to screwworm spread

#29
post #8
post #2

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Lovely platitudes but "nature" stops being abstract once it is happening to you, we are talking about mammals being eaten alive here, so that could be you, your family, your pets, cattle...etc. Of course people are going to react to that.

Re: Mexico to US livestock trade halted due to screwworm spread

#30
post #26

The US successfully eradicated screwworms here in 1966 with a brilliant integrated sterile insect technique - I think the very first use of it (and had previously funded helping other countries control it also). But if we had another outbreak spread, I doubt there's any shred of competence left in this current gutted federal government to do anything like that again. Maybe they can have the new ICE folks try to depor…

They announced funding to do it again, back in June. But I have no idea if there's anyone around to pay.
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