Mexico has started training rescue dogs to detect flesh-eating screwworm larvae in livestock wounds. The invasive “flesh-eating parasite” is an aggressively annoying fly, and could pose another risk to the United States’ meat industry.
Senasica’s Canine Trainer Center, Ceacan, has recruited rescue dogs for a three-month intensive training program, teaching the canines how to sniff out and detect the New World screwworm larvae within the open wounds of livestock or agricultural products, according to The Straits Times.
Colin Woodall, the CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, told NPR that this parasite is a major threat to the beef industry. After bird flu, the U.S. doesn’t really need more strikes against its cattle.
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Currently, the U.S. and Mexico are both working on several plans to combat the screwworm. Part of Mexico’s idea involves the agricultural health safety agency, Senasica, launching a “sniffer-dog training program” as another tactic in combating the rise in New World screwworm (NSW) populations.
“The larva does exactly what the name would suggest. It screws or bores into the flesh of our cattle and, in essence, eats the animal from the inside out. It is a horrific parasite,” Woodall said.
Currently, six screwworm-sniffing dogs are working the border of Chiapas and Guatemala, where many New World screwworm infestations are occurring. The dogs who have passed training will either work for eight years or until they turn 10 years old, whichever comes first.
“I would say 99% of the dogs are adopted by their handler,” shared Dangu. “There is an unbreakable link because of the love between the handler and the dog.” –People Magazine
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Rulers in the U.S. government have also launched tactics to protect against the potential New World screwworm infestations, including a fly dispersal facility in Edinburg, Texas, costing $8.5 million. This plan is said to “enhance the USDA’s already robust ability to detect, control, and eliminate this pest.”
The plan in the U.S. to sterilize male screwworm flies with radiation. That way, when they attempt to impregnate the female flies, those eggs won’t fertilize or hatch, and will, in turn, lead to the NWS flies dying out before they spread farther.
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