Six horses believed to have been smuggled across the border were seized Wednesday after a Presidio County sheriff’s deputy pulled over a truck and trailer on FM 170 in far West Texas. Deputies said they stopped the vehicle to check the animals’ Coggins health papers, and the driver admitted the horses had been picked up near Redford and brought into the United States illegally.
The animals were handed over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for testing and quarantine because of ongoing concerns about New World screwworm, according to FOX 26 Houston. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service warns that screwworm larvae feed on living tissue and notes that some southern ports have temporarily closed to live-animal trade after detections in Mexico, as outlined by USDA APHIS.
Chief Deputy Joel Nuñez Jr. said the sheriff’s office has stepped up border-security patrols under Operation Stonegarden as part of a broader livestock-smuggling probe, Big Bend Reporter reported. Deputies are now working with federal partners to trace where the horses came from and how they were routed into the country.
Why the USDA Quarantined the Animals
USDA quarantines are a standard biosecurity move when animals show up without proper papers, so officials can rule out pests and cross-border diseases. APHIS’s current-status page stresses that New World screwworm is not established in the United States, but recent detections in neighboring parts of Mexico have triggered tighter surveillance, temporary trade restrictions, and expanded quarantine rules. That is why animals suspected of entering illegally get diverted to USDA testing centers, according to USDA APHIS and related agency notices.
Enforcement and the Regional Response
Operation Stonegarden is a federal grant program that backs up joint, border-focused patrols and operations involving Customs and Border Protection and local law enforcement, according to the program description on FEMA. The Presidio seizure lands at a time when officials are racing to protect U.S. herds, including USDA plans to ramp up sterile-fly production in South Texas as part of a layered regional strategy described in federal materials and in coverage of the federal bug war to shield cattle from screwworm, as per Hoodline.
Presidio County officials say the livestock-smuggling investigation is still very much active and have urged anyone with information to contact local law enforcement, FOX 26 Houston reported. Ranchers and animal owners are being reminded to keep a close eye on wounds and surgical sites and to report unusual animal movements to state animal-health authorities.
