The U.S. Department of Agriculture is preparing to reopen a New Mexico port of entry to livestock trade with Mexico next week, continuing a phased return of cross-border cattle movement as officials manage New World screwworm risks.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the planned reopening Wednesday during remarks at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture conference in Portland, Maine, according to Reuters. Rollins said she planned to travel to New Mexico Wednesday night.
“We’re getting ready to reopen that New Mexico port next week,” Rollins said.
The USDA has not yet publicly identified which New Mexico port will reopen next week. The agency’s phased reopening plan calls for the Santa Teresa and Columbus ports to follow Douglas, Arizona. As of Sept. 15, the USDA’s New World screwworm status page still listed both New Mexico ports as under consideration rather than open.
Livestock trade has already resumed through Arizona
The USDA reopened the Douglas port to Mexican cattle imports Aug. 24, marking the first step in its phased reopening of southern livestock ports. The plan was announced in July and calls for animals entering through reopened ports to undergo USDA inspection for signs of New World screwworm.
According to Reuters, Rollins pointed to the first several weeks of operations at Douglas as evidence that livestock movement could resume while maintaining safeguards.
“What you all have proven for the last 20 plus days in Douglas is that this is manageable and doable, and the minute we believe there’s another threat, we shut it down again,” Rollins said.
The USDA has said the reopening schedule remains flexible and can be changed or paused if officials identify increased screwworm risk in Sonora or Chihuahua or if Mexico does not make satisfactory progress on agreed response measures.
New Mexico’s screwworm zone lifted
The planned port reopening comes less than three weeks after the USDA lifted New Mexico’s only New World screwworm infested zone.
New Mexico recorded its first and only confirmed case June 7 in a dog. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service released the state’s infested zone Aug. 30 after state and federal officials determined the requirements for lifting the designation had been met. No additional cases had been detected in the state since the initial case.
The USDA said lifting the zone removed screwworm-related requirements for domestic movement of livestock and pets from the affected area, although surveillance continues.
Two active animal infestations remain in the United States, both in Texas — one involving a horse and another involving a dog. The USDA continues to monitor detections and adjust sterile fly dispersal, surveillance and livestock movement measures as conditions change.