Protect Wildlife From the Screwworm Threat

A painful parasite that eats into the living tissue of animals has reappeared in the United States — and wildlife could pay the price if officials treat this as only an animal agriculture problem.

New World screwworm can infest wounds in warm-blooded animals, including wildlife, pets, and farmed animals. If left untreated, it can cause severe suffering and death. Federal and state officials are now racing to stop its spread, but a new warning from wildlife scientists is clear: any response that leaves wildlife out of surveillance efforts is dangerously incomplete.

Tell USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) to protect wildlife, pets, and farmed animals from this deadly parasite.

Wild animals are not the villains in this crisis. And farmed animals are not just economic units. They are all potential victims.

Too often, disease responses focus first on protecting industry profits while overlooking the animals who suffer — including farmed animals trapped in commercial systems and wild animals suffering out of sight. Pumas, deer, wild canids, and other animals with wounds or injuries could be vulnerable. In remote landscapes and protected areas, infections can go undetected until animals have already endured terrible pain.

At the same time, officials must confront one of the human-made drivers of this threat: illegal and unregulated cattle movements. When farmed animals are moved outside proper oversight systems, parasites and diseases can spread across regions — putting farmed animals, companion animals, wildlife, and entire ecosystems at risk.

Wildlife should not be scapegoated for failures of the animal agriculture system. And farmed animals should not be left to suffer because of weak oversight. USDA APHIS must act before animals suffer needlessly.

Please sign the petition to tell USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service: protect wildlife and farmed animals from New World screwworm and crack down on illegal and unregulated cattle movements that put animals at risk.

The petition to USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reads: New World screwworm is a serious animal welfare and wildlife conservation threat. We urge USDA APHIS to make animal protection a central part of the national screwworm response by funding humane wildlife surveillance, coordinating with the Department of the Interior, state wildlife agencies, veterinarians, Tribal governments, and conservation experts, and ensuring rapid reporting and treatment protocols for affected animals. We also urge USDA to strengthen enforcement against illegal and unregulated cattle movements that can help spread screwworm across regions and put farmed animals, wildlife, and companion animals at risk. Do not leave wildlife out of this response. Protect animals before this painful parasite spreads further.
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Source:

https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/26383/New-Study-Screwworm-Fight-Must-Include-Wildlife-Surveillance.aspx