As an outbreak of New World screwworm continues to plague ranchers, with 12 cases confirmed in domestic animals in the Southwest over the last two weeks, officials in Texas and at the federal level are shifting some concerns to wildlife. These worries are especially high in South Texas, where the deadly parasite could wreak havoc on whitetail populations and the state’s multi-billion-dollar deer hunting industry.
Alan Cain, head of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, spoke directly to these anxieties on Monday, according to Texas Public Radio. Cain explained how hunters and other outdoorsmen can play an important role in helping detect screwworm cases, and he said “folks using game cameras” are one example.
“When they’re sitting out in the evenings watching deer or other wildlife, those are good opportunities to observe and assess whether there might be wounds or injuries that look suspicious,” Cain said. “If they are, we need folks to report those to Texas Parks and Wildlife.”
TPWD did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and there is no indication at this point of confirmed screwworm cases in any of the state’s deer or other wildlife.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is taking the lead on controlling the NWS outbreak, the 10 active cases in Texas have all been isolated to livestock, while New Mexico’s one active case was confirmed in a dog. When talking to reporters Monday, however, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins warned that deer and other wildlife could help spread the parasite, and she said that detecting and mitigating any wildlife cases will be paramount in stopping the infestation.
“I think the important role is understanding the way that wildlife, especially in South Texas, is going to color this effort,” Rollins said, according to the Border Report. “Wildlife surveillance and monitoring is one of the most significant challenges in New World screwworm eradication — detecting infestations in wildlife before it spreads to the livestock population.”
To help with these control efforts, the USDA announced Tuesday that it will spend roughly $105 million to fund 40 “breakthrough projects” that were submitted as proposals through the NWS Grand Challenge. One of those projects, led by scientists at Texas A&M AgriLife Research, will rely on AI-assisted trail-camera monitoring to identify high-risk locations where wildlife could interact with livestock. Another project, submitted by The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, plans to develop drones and other monitoring technology to be deployed specifically in South Texas.
One of the main reasons for the heightened concerns in South Texas is the timing of this outbreak, which is hitting right in the middle of fawning season. Like other warm-blooded animals, newborn deer are especially vulnerable to the flesh-eating parasites.
“We are in the meat of the season,” Dr. Gaylon Wilmeth-Burleson, a local veterinarian, told Texas Public Radio. “Fawns in South Texas are born mid-June through the end of July … so we are right smack dab in baby time for our deer.”
Burleson said he also remembers his dad and others telling him about past screwworm outbreaks devastating local deer herds. This was back before the parasite was eradicated from the U.S. in the 1960s.
Read Next: Texas Officials Kill Off Deer Breeder’s Entire Herd, Ending Yearslong Legal War Over CWD Management
New World screwworm was never fully eradicated from the Americas, however. The current outbreak we’re seeing in the U.S. has been working north from Mexico and Central American countries since 2023. It officially crossed the border on June 3, when TPWD confirmed the first known case in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas. Which brings up the other glaring concern for Texas ranchers and wildlife officials: proximity.
According to the Center for Disease Control, there have been more than 185,000 cases of NWS reported in animals across Central America and Mexico since January, with an additional 2,100 cases reported in people.
Read the full article here
