Arrest Highlights Florida's Screwworm Crackdown
Florida agriculture officials say a recent arrest highlights just how seriously the state is taking New World Screwworm protections.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced the arrest of a Maitland man accused of illegally bringing 24 sheep and goats into the state. According to the department, the animals were being transported from Texas, a high-risk area under Florida's enhanced New World Screwworm import restrictions.
Investigators say the man was denied entry at the Pensacola Agricultural Inspection Station after failing to provide the required veterinary inspection paperwork. Authorities say he later re-entered Florida through Georgia after being denied entry, avoiding the agricultural inspection station. He now faces 24 counts of unlawful entry of animals into the state, along with one count of resisting an officer without violence.
State officials say there have been no New World Screwworm detections in Florida. But the parasite has re-emerged in parts of North America, prompting heightened biosecurity efforts and livestock import restrictions as officials work to keep it from becoming reestablished in the United States.
