Texas has opened a free online course meant to put more certified New World screwworm inspectors in the field, so ranchers can keep moving cattle and other animals while the state fights the pest.
Gov. Greg Abbott's office announced the program this week. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension built it with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Texas Animal Health Commission and Texas Parks and Wildlife. The governor's office called it the first program of its kind.
Who can become an inspector
The course runs on AgriLife's online learning platform in modules, with narrated lessons, demonstration videos and short quizzes. Topics include the fly's biology and life cycle, how to watch for and report cases, inspection and treatment steps for different species, which agencies do what, and the permits needed to move animals.
Students who pass the final exam and meet the animal health commission's eligibility rules can apply to become certified inspectors. Certified inspectors can sign the official treatment and movement certificates required to ship livestock out of infested zones legally.
The first phase is open, alongside personnel who were already authorized, to:
- licensed veterinarians who are not yet part of the state's authorized personnel program, plus veterinary technicians
- AgriLife Extension agents and its disaster assessment and recovery agents
- inspectors from the Texas Department of Agriculture, the meat safety program at the Department of State Health Services and the Texas Racing Commission
- animal control officers and livestock deputies
- designated staff at temporary livestock collection points
The state says more groups may be added later. Anyone can take the course to learn about the pest, even without qualifying for certification.
