AUSTIN – The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has released the remaining portion of the fever tick temporary preventative quarantine area (TPQA) in Starr County (South Texas). The release was effective June 19, 2015.The area released is located in the southwest part of Starr County along Highway 83, near Zapata County.
The TAHC established a TPQA for portions of Starr County on July 3, 2007 following findings of cattle fever tick infestations on multiple premises, and then increased the size of the area quarantined in 2008. Over 65,000 acres were under quarantine in the county until a partial release of the zone occurred in 2011. The size of the remaining area to be released in phase two for Starr County consists of 33,024 acres.
“Releasing the remaining area in the TPQA confirms that the cooperative efforts between the TAHC, USDA-Veterinary Services Tick Force and local ranchers are working successfully,” said Dr. Dee Ellis, TAHC Executive Director. “The TAHC and USDA will continue to work closely with local ranchers and hunters to maintain an effective surveillance program so that fever ticks do not reoccur in the area.”
The release rescinds all movement restrictions originally placed on livestock within the TPQA as a result of simply being located in the temporary quarantine zone. A separate temporary fever tick quarantine zone established in 2014 is still in place in Cameron County, with approximately 225,000 acres affected.
Cattle fever ticks are capable of carrying and transmitting ‘Babesia’, a blood parasite deadly to cattle. The fever ticks are common in Mexico, but are not normally found in Texas.
For more information about the cattle fever tick, visit the TAHC web site at:
http://www.tahc.state.tx.us/animal_health/fevertick/fevertick.html .
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), one of the oldest state regulatory agencies, was founded in 1893 with a mission to combat the fever ticks that plagued the Texas cattle industry. Today, the agency works to protect the health of all Texas livestock including: cattle, equine, sheep, goats, swine, poultry, exotic livestock and fowl.
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