Rollins: Screwworm won’t ‘compromise’ cattle movement

The discovery of New World screwworm in a calf in south Texas will not “compromise”  the movement of cattle in south Texas, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told The Hagstrom Report after a House Agriculture Committee hearing Thursday. 

The  Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced Wednesday it confirmed the detection of a New World screwworm (NWS) in a 3-week-old calf at La Pryor, a town in Zavala County, Texas, and said it had established a 20 kilometer infested zone around the detection and implemented quarantines, movement controls and surveillance in the area.

Amid concerns that the discovery of New World screwworm in the United States for the first time in decades might lead to restrictions on the movement of cattle to slaughter facilities, a smaller meat supply, and higher prices, the Meat Institute, which represents meat processors, said, “We will look to USDA to brief industry stakeholders and call on them to consider allowing low risk terminal movements for slaughter to ensure animals continue to be processed.”

Asked Thursday if cattle producers will find it difficult to move cattle to processing plants, Rollins said she did not believe the infested zone would “compromise” the movement of cattle to market in South Texas. 

Rollins made the statement after a House Agriculture Committee hearing at which she described the efforts that the Trump administration has taken to slow the movement of the screwworm from Central America and Mexico to the United States, as well as the efforts underway to contain the pest that affects livestock, pets, wildlife, and less commonly, people and birds. 

APHIS noted on Wednesday that screwworm larvae (maggots) burrow into the flesh of living animals, causing serious damage to livestock and economic losses. 

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Rollins described south Texas as “ground zero” for concerns about the screwworm, but at the hearing also acknowledged that ranchers in Arizona, New Mexico and California are worried that the screwworm will spread to animals in those states. 

Rollins noted that because the screwworm spreads from animal to animal, animal movement has been restricted and the United States has stopped importing cattle from Mexico. 

At the hearing, Rollins faced questions from both Democrats and Republicans about the situation, but committee members largely praised the administration for its efforts so far. 

Rollins also held a conference with ranchers and news media on Thursday. 

Farm leaders and ranchers have largely praised the USDA effort. 

“The USDA is on our side. I mean everybody… nobody wants to see this happen again,” Bryan Luensmann, a rancher, told Texas TV station KSAT in an interview at the Seguin Cattle Company. “They’re doing everything in their possible powers.”

More broadly, during a hearing that lasted four hours and 20 minutes, Rollins faced questions about the administration’s performance on agricultural, trade and nutrition policy. Republicans generally supported the what the Trump administration has done, while the Democrats criticized it, sometimes in harsh terms. 

In a rare moment of humor, Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., noted that Rollins was drinking a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has called on Dunkin and Starbucks to prove their high-sugar drinks are safe for teenagers. 

McGovern said he was pleased to see the secretary’s coffee came from Dunkin, a Massachusetts-based company. Rollins laughed and noted that Dunkin is the coffee available in the basement of the Agriculture Department headquarters building.