President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency cuts are hitting the state of Texas hard, as a long-controlled pest is threatening to resurge and decimate the livestock industry.
The New World screwworm, the larval stage of a parasitic fly known for laying eggs inside livestock animals and letting the maggots chew their way out, could cause massive damage to cattle herds. In the past, the U.S. managed to work together with Mexico to drive back screwworms, but they have been expanding their territory recently.
“Back in the 1950s, the United States led a successful charge against screwworms by buggering up their breeding cycle. But that was back when divisions of the government, like the U.S. Department of Agriculture were well funded and well organized,” noted Boing Boing in a piece published last month.
In an urgent public letter, GOP state Rep. Don McLaughlin outlined the danger to the state — and demanded immediate action.
“For more than a year, I have joined Texas ranchers in sounding the alarm while federal regulators have moved at a snail’s pace,” McLaughlin said in the statement. “Today, the threat is no longer hundreds of miles away. It is at our doorstep. Texas cannot afford to wait until the New World Screwworm crosses the border and begins devastating our livestock and wildlife populations.”
Attorney Blake Allen weighed in on the matter: “Screwworms coming back into the U.S. cattle herd/stock is going to potentially devastate the industry and jack up meat prices. Worst part is, this was preventable. Trump & DOGE pushed funding cuts on/destroyed agencies that were directly responsible for fighting this pest.”
Despite DOGE’s proclaimed mission to identify and eliminate government waste, fraud, and inefficiencies, the cuts by the project do not seem to have been effective in even achieving the core purpose of reducing spending.
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