The U.S. border reopened to Mexican cattle imports for the first time in more than a year on Aug. 24. Cattle were authorized to move into the country through a single port in Douglas, AZ.
The initial shipment totaled 750 head, and will gradually increase to 1,500 head, according to a press release from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.
The Mexican government said it will maintain traceability on cattle from birth until cattle are shipped over the border, in addition to implementing security and inspection measures to monitor New World screwworm (NWS) outbreaks.
USDA said phased border reopenings will continue.
“In 30 days, we’ll open up one of the New Mexico ports and in 30 days after that, the third New Mexico port,” USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a USDA radio broadcast. “We don’t plan to open any Texas ports any time soon, just because that is where the real activity is.”
The news comes shortly after NWS was detected for the first time in the state of Sonora, which borders Arizona.
As of Aug. 24, there were two active NWS cases reported in the U.S., each in Texas. The U.S. border has been closed to Mexico livestock imports since last May.
