USDA Halts Livestock Imports at Southern Border Amid Parasite Threat

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has suspended imports of live cattle, horses, and bison through ports of entry along the southern border, effective immediately, according to a Sunday press release from the federal agency.

The decision comes as the New World Screwworm (NWS), a deadly parasitic fly, continues its rapid northward spread through Mexico, now detected approximately 700 miles from the U.S. border in the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz.