For Immediate Release
Contact: R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard
Phone: 406-252-2516; r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com
(Billings, Mont., September 22, 2025) – Hours ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a news release stating Mexico had confirmed a case of New World Screwworm (NWS) in Sabinas Hidalgo, located in the state of Nuevo León, less than 70 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexico previously confirmed an NWS case approximately 370 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border on July 9, indicating the devastating pest is moving northward in Mexico.
The USDA further stated that preliminary reports from Mexico indicate the affected animal–an 8-month-old cow– “had recently been moved to a certified feedlot in Nuevo León from a region in southern Mexico with known active NWS cases.”
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard issued the following statement in response to USDA’s announcement of this recent detection of NWS in closer proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border.
“We commend Secretary Rollins’ ongoing actions to prevent the introduction of NWS into the United States. Those actions include closing U.S. ports to imports of cattle, bison, and horses from Mexico; stopping the pest from spreading in Mexico; maximizing the United States’ readiness through emergency management plans; expediting the production of sterile NWS flies to reduce the pest’s population in Mexico and to push it south of Panama; and supporting innovative research to further enhance eradication efforts.
“Given the initial report that this northernmost case was associated with cattle moved northward from areas in southern Mexico where known active NWS cases are ongoing, we urge the Secretary to take additional steps to persuade Mexico to halt all northward movement of livestock within Mexico, as well as to halt any unlawful trafficking of cattle from South America to Mexico, until Mexico has eradicated the NWS from within its borders.
“The NWS presents a serious threat to U.S. livestock, and both our nation’s cattle and sheep herds have already declined to historically low levels, as have the numbers of U.S. cattle and sheep farms and ranches. We must, as the Secretary is doing, take every precaution to prevent this pest’s introduction into the United States.
“We are encouraged by Secretary Rollins’ contemporaneous announcement that USDA will soon release a plan to help rebuild America’s cattle supply, and we intend to assist in any way possible to help her achieve that important goal.”
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Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) is the largest producer-only cattle trade association in the United States. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle and sheep industries. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or call 406-252-2516.