US Halts Cattle, Horse, and Bison Imports From Mexico Over Screwworm Spread

Mexican Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué said that he disagrees with the move.

Cattle are held in a corral before being exported to the United States through the Jeronimo-Santa Teresa border crossing after U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced an agreement with Mexico on the management of the New World screwworm at the Chihuahua Regional Livestock Union facility, outside Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on April 29, 2025. Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo

The United States will halt imports of live cattle, horses, and bison across the southern border because of the spread of the New World screwworm in Mexico, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on May 11.

In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the decision was made following the detection of screwworm on remote farms as far north as Oaxaca and Veracruz, about 700 miles from the U.S. border.