Mexico resumes cattle exports to the US with restrictions

ABRAHAM TELLEZ

AGUA PRIETA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico on Monday reactivated, amid strict controls, live cattle exports to the United States that had been suspended for more than a year after Washington restricted the movement of livestock due to the spread of the screwworm plague, which is now present on both sides of the border.

The resumption of cattle transit began just after 3:00 p.m., when a first batch of 716 head of cattle crossed from the Mexican town of Agua Prieta, in the state of Sonora, to the border town of Douglas, in Arizona.

The process began after several hours of inspections carried out by Mexican and U.S. authorities, who used dogs to examine each animal and determine that they were not infected with the screwworm pest.

The larva comes from the fly Cochliomyia hominivorax, which invades open wounds or the mucous membranes of body cavities of any warm-blooded animal, including humans, and devours tissue, causing lesions to become increasingly deep and painful.

The plague reached Mexico in November 2024 and is now present in 30 of the country's 32 states, including the northern state of Sonora, while in the United States the first cases began to be reported in June in the states of Texas and New Mexico.

Opening with limitations. For the reactivation of Mexican cattle imports on August 24, the United States approved a new protocol that included the placement of radio-frequency identification tags on the ears of the cattle and the installation of arches to detect the identifiers.

In addition, the passage of cattle into Arizona was limited to 700 head per day, which will increase to 900 per day the following week, and then to 1,300 per day the week after.

Mexico also plans to strengthen cattle traceability systems and the dispersal of sterile flies to advance containment of the plague, Mexican Agriculture Secretary Columba López announced Monday. The country currently has 1,937 active screwworm cases.

At the end of June, a plant for the production of sterile flies, funded by Mexico and the United States, was reopened in the southern state of Chiapas.

López indicated that the dispersal of sterile flies will be reinforced in the northern states of Chihuahua and Sonora, which are the largest exporters of cattle to the United States and already have confirmed screwworm cases.

Although Mexico currently has hundreds of cattle ready for export, the controls imposed by the United States will slow the entry of livestock and delay the recovery of the U.S. cattle herd, which stands at around 86 million head — the lowest level in 75 years — and faces a deficit of approximately 1.2 million head that has contributed to historically high meat prices in that country.