USDA proposes San Luis, Ariz. to be a Mexican cattle entry port
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has proposed a rule to include San Luis, Ariz., as an additional port on the Southwest border to allow Mexican cattle to enter the United States.
Cattle from Mexico must be inspected individually at APHIS-approved facilities on the Mexican side of the border and be certified free of ticks. If ticks are found, the cattle must be dipped in a solution to kill the parasites. The cattle are then held in quarantine for 10 to 14 days before being re-inspected. If more ticks are found, the cattle must be dipped and quarantined again.
Under current APHIS regulations, tick-infested and exposed cattle from Mexico may only enter the United States through a single port in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and six ports in Texas (Brownsville, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Hidalgo, Laredo and Presidio). APHIS said the proposed San Luis port of entry would be the western most point along the Southwest border to accept Mexican cattle.
According to the USDA, about 68,000 cattle enter the United States through Santa Teresa and another 500,000 head enter through the Texas ports. An additional 25,000 to 50,000 cattle would be expected to enter through San Luis.
Cattle fever caused from ticks was eradicated from the United States in 1961, with the exception of a permanent quarantine zone along the Texas/Mexico border.
To review the proposed rule, access: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20081800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/E8-1533.htm.
