On Friday, 175 groups sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and the U.S. House and Senate in support of building a sterile fly facility in the U.S.
Three Oklahoma based groups are signatories of the letter- the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and the Oklahoma Livestock Marketing Association. Two groups that have Oklahoma members as a part of their makeup that signed include the Texas Cattle Feeders and the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers.
“We are grateful for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) recent announcement at Moore Air Base regarding USDA’s five-pronged plan for NWS Domestic Readiness and Response Initiative. The establishment of a sterile fly dispersal facility in partnership with the Panama-United States Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Screwworm (COPEG) is a critical step forward in rebuilding our domestic defense against this devastating pest. However, much work remains. The U.S. still lacks a domestic sterile fly production facility, the foundation of any long-term eradication and response strategy,” stated the letter.
“Therefore, the undersigned organizations urge the Administration to immediately secure full federal funding and begin construction of a domestic sterile fly production facility. The Animal Health Protection Act was enacted to provide the Secretary with the necessary resources to protect our country and swiftly respond to animal disease and pest threats like NWS. We urge the USDA to use the powers granted under this act or any other avenue to fully fund this facility.”
Among the national groups that signed the letter were the American Farm Bureau, Livestock Marketing Association, National Beef Cattlemen’s Association and the National Milk Producers Association.
See the letter below:
