Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has announced pre-award approval of a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services that unlocks immediate federal funding for the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) to hire additional inspectors and strengthen the state’s New World screwworm (NWS) response.
“Texas will take every action necessary to safeguard our livestock producers and agricultural economy from the New World screwworm,” Abbott said in a press release. “This federal funding allows us to place more inspectors in the field and bolster our state response.”
This funding allows TAHC to hire 15 new term positions, including 10 field inspectors and specialists in emergency management and epidemiology. The new positions will significantly expand the state’s inspection and containment capacity.
As of June 18, there have been 12 confirmed detections of NWS in animals in the U.S. The last reported animal detection was June 12, according to APHIS. Species affected have been sheep, cattle and goats in Texas and a dog in New Mexico.
