Canada has slapped an immediate ban on cattle imports from Texas after federal inspectors confirmed a fresh outbreak of the flesh-eating screwworm. The decision, announced late Tuesday from Ottawa, shuts the border to all live bovine shipments from the Lone Star State. Sources within the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirm the ban follows the detection of New World screwworm larvae in at least three herds south of the Rio Grande.
The parasite burrows into living tissue, and if left untreated, it can kill an adult cow within days. The outbreak, first flagged by Texas livestock officials in April, has now spread to three counties. Canadian authorities say they are not taking chances.
“We cannot afford a single infected animal crossing our border,” a senior CFIA official told me. “The economic cost to our beef sector would be catastrophic.” The ban covers feeder calves, breeding stock, and slaughter-ready cattle.
It does not extend to processed beef products. But industry insiders tell me the move could send shockwaves through North American supply chains. Texas ranchers, already reeling from drought and rising feed costs, now face a locked export market.
Documents I have obtained show Canadian buyers had placed orders for more than 200,000 head of Texas cattle this quarter, a trade valued at over $300 million. The screwworm, eradicated from the United States in 1966, has been making a comeback. Climate change and lax border inspections, critics argue, have allowed the pest to re-establish a foothold.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture insists it has the situation under control.
But Canadian investigators are not convinced. They have deployed additional inspectors to Texas feedlots and ordered mandatory testing for any animal that has been within 200 miles of the outbreak zone. The ban is indefinite, and CFIA officials say it will not be lifted until Texas can prove zero active screwworm cases for at least two months.
Behind the scenes, there is talk of a compensation fund for Canadian cattle buyers left holding unfilled orders. The politics are ugly. Alberta's beef lobby has been pushing for tighter restrictions on U.
S. imports for years, citing everything from antibiotic resistance to animal welfare. This outbreak gives them the ammunition they need.
The Canadian government is already facing pressure to expand the ban to other southern states where screwworm sightings have been reported. And in Texas, the fallout is just beginning. Ranchers are calling for federal emergency aid, and some are threatening to sue Ottawa for lost revenue.
The USDA has not yet commented on the Canadian decision. But one thing is clear: the screwworm is back, and it is eating through the delicate trust that binds continental beef markets. I will be following the money.
I will be tracking the bodies. Stay tuned.
