Republican Governor Greg Abbott is taking decisive action to defend Texas from a gruesome threat creeping up from Mexico.
The governor has directed the Texas Animal Health Commission and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to form a specialized response team to combat a parasitic invader.
The New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that devours livestock from the inside out, has triggered emergency measures as it approaches the Texas border.
This long-eradicated pest threatens to devastate ranchers and the state’s $15 billion cattle industry.
The screwworm poses a significant danger not just to livestock but to all warm-blooded animals, including wildlife, pets, and even humans.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller did not mince words about the threat: “It’s a fly larva that eats living flesh. It’s kind of something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie almost.”
These horrific parasites lay eggs in open wounds of living animals. When the eggs hatch, the larvae burrow into the flesh and feed on living tissue, causing excruciating pain, severe infections, and often death if left untreated.
The screwworm was eradicated from the United States in the 1960s through an innovative sterile fly release program, but now it is making an alarming comeback.
The parasites have been steadily marching northward through Central America and are now established in southern Mexico.
Governor @GregAbbott_TX today directed @TPWDnews and @TAHC to establish a Texas New World Screwworm Response Team.
Their mission is to lead Texas’ prevention and response efforts and to prevent the re-emergence of this destructive parasite.
Learn more: https://t.co/8YDWlKBtDX pic.twitter.com/cvy9gPBrb9
— Governor Abbott Press Office (@GovAbbottPress) June 25, 2025
As they approach the southern border, Texas is mobilizing as the first line of defense for the entire nation.
“The recent northward spread of the New World screwworm from Central America into southern Mexico poses a serious threat to Texas livestock and wildlife,” Abbott warned.
To prevent the parasite’s spread, the U.S. has temporarily halted cattle imports at the southern border.
The Texas Department of Agriculture is deploying pheromone traps along the border and urging ranchers to remain vigilant for any signs of infestation.
Congressman Tony Gonzales issued a stark warning: “Very soon, people are going to know what a screwworm is because they can’t barbecue on the weekends.”
The long-term solution requires mass production of sterile male flies, which mate with females but produce no offspring, gradually reducing the population.
The federal government is investing $8.5 million in a dispersal site at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas, and $20 million in a production facility in Mexico.
“As a border state, Texas represents the first line of defense against the potential re-entry of this harmful pest into the United States,” Abbott emphasized in his directive.
This situation highlights yet another border crisis that threatens American livelihoods.
Without Texas’s proactive leadership, these flesh-eating parasites could devastate American agriculture and wildlife.
