Belizean officials are on high alert after a case of New World screwworm (NWS) was detected in Catazaja, Chiapas, near Mexico’s border with Guatemala.
Fermin Blanco, the country representative of OIRSA in Belize, told News Five that concerns surrounding the detection of the New World screwworm in Mexico and its potential impact on the region are being addressed. Blanco explained that the detection of the disease had raised alarms due to the damage it can cause.
He stressed that Belize remains free of the disease and that the export protocols to Mexico are unchanged for now. However, he acknowledged that if the disease was to be detected in Belize, it would lead to the implementation of stricter protocols, similar to those imposed on Guatemala, which includes increased inspections, sanitation, and measures to ensure that animals are free of ticks or flies. Additionally, animals might need to be treated with insecticides and undergo an Ivermectin injection to guarantee protection against the pest.
OIRSA, the Ministry of Agriculture, BAHA, and the Belize Livestock Producers Association (BLPA) are working together to prevent the introduction of the New World screwworm fly into Belize. He stressed that the movement of cattle, particularly the illegal transportation of cattle from neighbouring Central American countries, plays a major role in the spread of the disease.
Blanco explained that producers would now have to manage and treat wounds in animals more carefully, as the pest is attracted to the smell of blood. Even routine practices like ear tagging and dehorning would require attention to avoid creating conditions that attract the fly.
The United States has temporarily halted cattle imports from Mexico following the detection of a case of New World screwworm (NWS) in Catazaja, Chiapas, near Mexico’s border with Guatemala. The announcement was made by Mexico’s government on Sunday. The severity of the threat posed by the parasitic fly can devastate livestock and other warm-blooded animals, including humans.
In its statement, the Mexican government assured that measures to control the outbreak are underway and that the suspension does not affect other exports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed receiving notification from Mexico’s chief veterinary officer, adding that NWS infestations typically enter through open wounds, where maggots feed on living tissue. The USDA is now collaborating with Mexico and Central American partners to contain the spread, urging producers to monitor livestock closely for signs of infection.
This development comes as Belize’s Minister of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise, Jose Abelardo Mai, recently participated in a regional meeting in Chetumal, Mexico, focused on the prevention of exotic animal diseases, including Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and screwworm.
The meeting, hosted by Mexico’s National Service for Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality (SENASICA), brought together officials from various organisations, including the Mexican Army and the National Guard, to discuss strategies for safeguarding the agricultural sector. Gabino Galván, Regional Director for SENASICA, and other experts stressed the importance of vigilance in preventing screwworm from spreading further.
This morning, the Forest Department and Belize Zoo staff sprang into action after a Hattieville resident reported a juvenile jaguar trapped in his storeroom. The young jaguar had been chased by dogs early in the morning and sought refuge inside the storeroom, where the quick-thinking property owner shut the doors, capturing it. The Forest Department and Belize Zoo team arrived, sedated the jaguar, and transported it to the zoo for care. The jaguar is now under the zoo’s watchful eye, where it will undergo a thorough health check. Plans are in place to relocate the jaguar to a secret location and fit it with a collar to monitor its movements closely. The Forest Department and its partners are committed to ensuring a balance between human safety and the wellbeing of our jaguar population. They will continue to respond to all reports of jaguar and wildlife issues across rural Belize.
A family of six is counting their blessings after surviving a harrowing crash on Saturday evening. Their vehicle collided head-on with a horse standing on the highway, but fortunately, their injuries were not life-threatening. The accident occurred at mile forty-one on the Philip Goldson Highway around 6:15 p.m., just as the family was returning to Belize City. While they all sustained various injuries, none required hospitalization. However, their vehicle was totaled. The youngest passenger, a nine-month-old toddler, suffered seatbelt burns on his arm. One of the passengers, an attorney, recounted the terrifying moment, explaining that the incident happened so quickly the driver had no time to avoid the horse standing in their path. She voiced her concerns about the ongoing issue of horse and cattle owners allowing their animals to roam onto public roads, endangering lives. She also mentioned that just a week prior, a friend had told her about a coworker who had a similar encounter, where a horse forced him off the road and into a tree.
Every day, Belizeans come across stray animals wandering the streets, often hungry, injured, or pregnant, relying on human kindness for survival. Unfortunately, help is hard to come by for these creatures, who are frequently viewed as nuisances and public health risks. Humane societies across the country are striving to address the problem, but with limited resources, the situation is becoming increasingly dire. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with more details.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Belize faces a significant issue with stray animals. Across the country, thousands of pets are abandoned or left to fend for themselves on the streets. As these strays scavenge for food, they often scatter trash, and tragically, many fall victim to traffic accidents daily. The responsibility of managing this growing problem falls on the shoulders of dedicated volunteer teams. Liam Woods, a volunteer at Belize City Animal Aid, shares insights into the crucial work his group undertakes to address this pressing issue.
Liam Woods
Liam Woods, Volunteer, Belize City Animal Aid
“We do a whole bunch of work. Scattered, would not be the word, but something similar. cause we all have our jobs and responsibilities, school and so forth. So we tend to go every Saturday to our foster home. We take care of all the animals that we have up for adoption, cause we have to maintain them. Bathe them, take care of their ticks and fleas, monthly preventatives, and heartworms. Food is a big issue actually. On our last bag of dog food today. So we’re looking for donations or else we’ll pull from our fund, which the funds are low.”
Just this week, dozens of animals were rescued and are in desperate need of a forever home. When animals become strays, the likelihood of them getting pregnant or impregnating another animal increases; further exacerbating the issue.
Liam Woods
“I’d say, it’s really bad. Because, and it’s not even people’s fault. The thing is, spaying and neutering is an expensive procedure. And to do that you require responsibility and care for your animal. And that’s why one of our main objectives right now is to restart the program with the spay and neuter clinics for a heavily discounted price. That’s just a bit problematic right now because we have issues finding and sourcing doctors. But yes, I’d say it’s quite bad, the abandoning and neglect.”
To prevent this, the BCAA requires that those looking to adopt animals from them to have a fenced yard.
Liam Woods
“We are really against tying animals because that’s a whole different issue in itself. Thank you. But just keep them enclosed, because once a dog goes and hits a female, they say that males can smell it from miles away, and they will pack her, and then the pregnancy will just continue and continue.”
Woods pointed out that the window between rescuing an animal and finding a foster home is shrinking, as funds and space become increasingly scarce. Presently, the Belize City Council does not directly handle the rescue of stray animals. However, in the unfortunate event that an animal is run over or dies by other means, the sanitation department steps in to ensure proper disposal of the body. Sanitation Manager, Simeon Alvarez, elaborates on this process.
Simeon Alvarez
Simeon Alvarez, Sanitation Manager, Belize City Council
“Our sanitation department’s role is just to ensure that we remove the carcass whenever we get a call or a request. That means we only remove the animals in they have died. In respect to the amount of stray dogs, it’s directly the responsibility from the Public Health Department and the Ministry of Health. They normally collaborate with the council and do dog eradications I think quarterly.”
Previously, animals were rounded up and euthanized by the council, but the program was put on hold after backlash from various humane societies.
Simeon Alvarez
“However the Humane Society, I think, had an issue with it. I believe they wrote the council one time and they wanted to see how we can improve and enhance the eradication of dogs. I think they prefer we rehabilitate the dogs them and try to find Owners or some persons who will want to adopt the stray animals rather than eradicate them the way we do.”
To some, euthanasia might appear to be the easiest solution, especially for those who feel threatened by stray animals or find them a nuisance on their property. However, since this issue largely stems from human actions, humane societies argue that these animals shouldn’t be punished for circumstances beyond their control. Despite their best efforts, the noble aim of saving every animal is a challenging goal for these groups to maintain.
Liam Woods
“That is very extremely difficult for all of our volunteers collectively to do. Because as you mentioned, we all have our own jobs, our responsibilities at school, issues at home, everything we have to take care of. And we’re living in a society where you have to work you need to do that out of your free time, and free time is very limited, an issue that we’d really like to resolve throughout these coming years is to gather more volunteers, people interested, outreach, as I said, to help us with this issue.”
As the problem persists, the teams dedicating their time, energy, and resources to save and dispose of these animals, hope that more people can come together to find a solution fair to both the animals and the people living in their shared habitats.
Simeon Alvarez
“Stray dogs compound the waste management stream in respect to that, even the mental patients, the people that dig up the garbage like I said, stray dogs. The increase of that definitely affected our city tremendously. And I believe we need to find a solution for it sooner or later with the human society.”
