AMERICANALMANAC (Jonah Adams) - New World screwworm outbreak freezes Texas pet adoptions, puts thousands of shelter animals at risk
A flesh-eating parasite that crossed from Mexico into the United States for the first time in 60 years has shut down interstate pet transfers from Texas, leaving overcrowded shelters facing a surge in euthanasia. Forty-four states have now restricted the movement of dogs and cats from screwworm-infested areas of Texas, choking off the pipeline that […] The post New World screwworm outbreak freezes Texas pet adoptions, puts thousands of shelter animals at risk appeared first on American Almanac .
A flesh-eating parasite that crossed from Mexico into the United States for the first time in 60 years has shut down interstate pet transfers from Texas, leaving overcrowded shelters facing a surge in euthanasia. Forty-four states have now restricted the movement of dogs and cats from screwworm-infested areas of Texas, choking off the pipeline that normally sends tens of thousands of unadopted animals each year to shelters and rescue groups in the Northeast, the Great Lakes, and beyond. Florida banned imports of rescued dogs and cats from Texas and New Mexico roughly a week after the first screwworm case appeared in Texas this year. New York blocked transfers for weeks before reinstating them with a new requirement: a veterinarian must…Open