Texas agencies are ganging up on a bad, bad worm. According to a release, the Texas Animal Health Commission and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will team up to combat the New World screwworm (NWS) prior to its arrival in Texas, following a directive from Governor Greg Abbott.
Abbott issued a letter warning that the spread of the New World screwworm from Central America into southern Mexico poses “a serious threat to Texas livestock and wildlife” and directed the two agencies to form a Texas New World Screwworm Response Team with a mission to prevent the reemergence of this destructive parasite.
“Texas played a critical role in eradicating this pest from the United States in the 1960s and will do so again if the need arises,” Abbott said in his directive…