MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico will tighten the flow of cattle from the south of the country to limit the potential spread of the screwworm, the nation’s agriculture minister said on Tuesday.
The screwworm, which can kill cattle or other hosts within weeks, has recently been detected in the south of Mexico and has caused the U.S. to suspend cattle imports from its neighbor.
Mexican Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegue, speaking at a regular press conference alongside President Claudia Sheinbaum, ruled out closing Mexico’s southern border to cattle from Central America, but acknowledged it will take a long time to eradicate the pest.
“Closing the border is a complex issue that needs to be carefully analyzed because it also impacts the national meat supply,” Berdegue told reporters. “We will restrict cattle movements from the country’s south,” he added.
The U.S. and Mexico had reached an agreement last month on the handling of the damaging pest, which can infest livestock and wildlife and carry maggots that burrow into the skin of living animals, causing serious and often fatal damage.
(Reporting by Raul Cortes and Kylie Madry; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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