{"id":343589,"date":"2026-06-20T01:10:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T01:10:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/343589\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T01:10:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T01:10:31","slug":"texas-shelters-warn-bans-and-vet-only-meds-could-force-euthanasia-in-screwworm-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/343589\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas shelters warn bans and vet-only meds could force euthanasia in screwworm fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Animal shelters in Texas are beginning to worry about the growing New World screwworm infestation.<\/p>\n

Of the 12 confirmed screwworm cases across the country, 11 are in Texas. Austin Pets Alive!, a local nonprofit animal shelter, has been redesigning its system after Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in response to the growing infestations. The organization worries it will soon exhaust its resources in trying to combat the flesh-eating parasite.<\/p>\n

Ellen Jefferson, a veterinarian and CEO of Austin Pets Alive!, said she suspects the infestation will become worse than it already is.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause any warm-blooded animal can be a host, it will be replicating in squirrels and deer and everything, including dogs, cats and humans. So, we\u2019ve got a problem that is unquantifiable,\u201d she said. \u201cI would not be shocked if our entire state is an infested zone very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ellen<\/p>\n

Ellen Jefferson, CEO of Austin Pets Alive!<\/p>\n

Jefferson said many animals in shelters across the state will be at risk of immediate euthanasia if action is not taken soon. She said there are three major obstacles in stopping the screwworm infestation.<\/p>\n

The first problem is the ban on Texan shelter animals by other states, she said. Between 20,000 and 40,000 animals are transported out of Texas every year to shelters in other states to receive life-saving care. Florida, New York and Pennsylvania recently banned all shelter animals from Texas, which Jefferson said may cause a domino effect of bans across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the very first thing we\u2019re doing is trying to get all those national organizations to immediately reach out to state offices, and get a reasonable precaution put into place as opposed to a complete ban,\u201d Jefferson said.<\/p>\n

Animals will begin dying if more bans prevent them from being transported for care, she said.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Two shelter cats from Austin Pets Alive!<\/p>\n

The second problem is the accessibility of screwworm medication. The medicine is FDA-approved and classified as a \u201ccontrolled substance\u201d that cannot be administered by anyone other than a licensed veterinarian.<\/p>\n

However, most shelters don\u2019t have vets, Jefferson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey really need the governor\u2019s authority to be able to treat the animals in their care with the medications,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is something only the governor can order during the emergency disaster response.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last problem is that health inspectors need to be either a professional veterinary technician, emergency personnel or an animal control officer to sign off on an animal\u2019s transport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf none of those people are interacting with the shelter, and they don\u2019t have access to the medication, then they can\u2019t get the animals out in a timely manner,\u201d Jefferson said.<\/p>\n

\"Veterinarian<\/p>\n

Veterinarian at Austin Pets Alive!<\/p>\n

Austin Pets Alive! has been working to redesign its intake, medical and transport systems as well as raising awareness with other national animal welfare agencies. The organization hopes that instead of blanket bans nationwide, the country can reach a \u201ccertificate-based transport approach that keeps movement safe without cutting off thousands of dogs and cats from their only path out of overcrowded shelters,\u201d according to its statement.<\/p>\n

But as a local organization, Austin Pets Alive! needs all the help it can get. The screwworm preventatives cost about $14 a dose, and they\u2019ve already ordered 5,000 doses up front. That has cost them about $70,000 so far, and the cost will multiply quickly across a growing population of animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need transformational gifts now,\u201d Jefferson said. \u201cWe are rapidly trying to figure out how to do this. And we\u2019re small \u2014 we don\u2019t have the ability to just do it, so all of it is dependent on funding.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Animal shelters in Texas are beginning to worry about the growing New World screwworm infestation.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-343589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}