According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, unlike common maggots that feed only on dead flesh, screwworm larvae tear through a cow's healthy, living muscle and tissue using a sharp mouth hook.

The flies pose a threat the state’s $17 billion cattle industry and can infest any warm-blooded animals, including wildlife and pets.

By Tom Polansek and Cassandra Garrison LUBBOCK, Texas/SALTILLO, Mexico, June 6 (Reuters) - Lubbock Feeders has been fattening cattle in West Texas since Dwight Eisenhower was U.S. president. Now, row upon row of pens sit empty.

Rear Admiral Michael Schmoyer, director of the New World Screwworm Directorate for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, speaks during a news conference about Texas' response to the New World Screwworm at the State Operations Center in Austin on Friday, June 5, 2026.

The Texas governor is hoping to speed up construction of a South Texas facility that will breed sterile flies to slow the spread.

The governor and other state officials said while the New World screwworm could impact food production if not contained, it will not impact food safety.

OTTAWA — Canada is temporarily restricting the import of livestock from Texas over concerns about a parasitic fly with flesh-eating larvae.

After a screwworm infestation was confirmed in a South Texas calf, officials launched an aggressive effort to prevent the parasite from spreading in the nation’s largest cattle-producing state.