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WASHINGTON — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Sunday said she is suspending imports of live cattle, horses and bison through the southern U.S. border over the damaging pest New World screwworm, a measure that immediately drew opposition from Mexico.
"I am announcing the suspension of live cattle, horse, & bison imports through U.S. southern border ports of entry effective immediately," Rollins said. "The last time this devastating pest invaded America, it took 30 years for our cattle industry to recover. This cannot happen again."
Her Mexican counterpart, Julio Berdegue, swiftly rebuked the action, but said he hoped the two countries could soon come to an agreement over the pest.
"We don't agree with this measure," he said in a post on social media, adding that it would be in place for 15 days.
The U.S. agriculture agency in a statement on Sunday said the suspension would be in effect on a "month-by-month basis."
Last month, the U.S. and Mexico reached an agreement on the handling of the damaging pest, which can infest livestock and wildlife and carry maggots that burrow into the skin of living animals, causing serious and often fatal damage.
The U.S. agriculture agency, in a statement, said the efforts so far were not sufficient and acknowledged "an economic impact" on both countries due to the suspension.
"There has been unacceptable northward advancement of NWS and additional action must be taken to slow the northern progression of this deadly parasitic fly," the agency said.
It said the pest had been detected in Oaxaca and Veracruz, about 700 miles from the U.S. border.
