ALTON, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Concerns over the spread of screwworm in Texas are extending beyond cattle ranches and into the Rio Grande Valley’s hunting industry.
Just days after the first screwworm case was confirmed in Texas, the number of infected animals has increased, raising fears among ranchers, hunters, and hunting outfitters about the potential impact on wildlife populations and future hunting seasons.
One local outfitter says the threat is already affecting business.
“The threat of a possible screwworm infestation is already impacting the Valley’s hunting industry,” said Joshua Lopez, owner of Quacker Smackers Outfitters. “One local outfitter says calls dropped nearly 30% after the first case was confirmed.”
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While ranchers can closely monitor livestock for signs of infection, wildlife such as deer, nilgai, and feral hogs roam freely across large ranches, making it more difficult to detect or contain an outbreak.
Christopher Lapham, owner of Lapham’s Lone Star Ranch, said an infestation among wildlife could create a ripple effect throughout the hunting industry, reducing hunting opportunities and affecting local businesses that rely on seasonal hunters.
“If they start coming in and decimating the wildlife populations, that will affect the amount of permits that people are allowed to draw and the amount of hunters that are able to go out there,” Lapham said. “A lot of the hunters that can’t afford $2,000, $5,000 for a yearly lease, that’s their only avenue to go out and hunt. That will have a big effect on that.”
Quackers Smackers Outfitters’ owner said the concern extends beyond mammals, noting that screwworm larvae can also affect birds and other wildlife species.
“If this gets to an infestation, that could affect our bag limits,” Lopez said. “In the state of Texas, we have daily bag limits. For example, ducks have a six-bird bag limit. It could affect the bag limits on our turkeys. I think we can have a bag limit of four, and it could affect and drop it to two or one, or maybe not a hunting season at all.”
Although most hunting seasons are currently closed, hog hunting remains open year-round in Texas. Even so, Lopez said he has noticed a significant drop in customers compared to this time last year.
“Scared that animal that they shoot, for example, we got wild hogs at the moment to come hunt, they might be a little bit scared that the screwworms can be living in that hog,” Lopez said. “It’s just stuff like that and a lot less business for me at the moment.”
Ranchers are also closely monitoring the upcoming whitetail fawning season in July and August. They say newborn fawns and calves are especially vulnerable because the moist umbilical area can attract flies and create ideal conditions for screwworm infestation.
Lopez said he plans to closely monitor wildlife on his property for signs of illness or weakness and will report any suspected cases to authorities as quickly as possible.
“If we don’t worry about it too much, it could sneak up on us and hit us from the back, kind of what COVID did, so we want to prepare for that,” Lopez said.
Exposing the Big Game 