Letter to the Hon. Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior - Assist with Cattle Fever Tick Eradication

Letter

Dear Secretary Zinke,

We write to you today to respectfully request your assistance in controlling an impending threat to American agriculture. Ranchers in South and Central Texas are currently dealing with an outbreak of cattle fever tick outside of the permanent quarantine zone. There are currently more than 200 infested premises and over 2,000 ranches that have been exposed to infested cattle or are adjacent to infestations. More than 1.3 million acres are quarantined. Ranchers across our home state of Texas are concerned that without greater coordination between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of the Interior to eradicate the fever tick, cattle in other regions of Texas and across the nation could be susceptible.

The fever tick can carry microscopic parasites that attack the animal's red blood cells, causing acute anemia, high fever, and enlargement of the spleen and liver. The fever tick's preferred host is cattle. However, other potential hosts include, but are not limited to, horses, white-tailed deer, and exotic hoofstock, such as nilgai antelope and red deer. An outbreak of infected ticks could ultimately result in as much as 90 percent loss of susceptible cattle. Therefore, the spread of the fever tick poses a major threat to the entire United States livestock industry and economy.

Under current regulations, ranchers in areas designated as "infested" are required to gather, treat and inspect 100 percent of their livestock, including cattle and equine. Ranchers can either use a medicated dipping treatment every 7-14 days or give a dose of injectable Doramectin every 25-28 days for a minimum of 6-9 months. The only alternative is for ranchers to remove all livestock from their property; however, there are concerns with this option. White tailed deer and nilgai antelope are secondary hosts for the fever tick. Vacating all cattle and livestock from an infested or adjacent area would only shift the fever ticks to the wildlife population, which rapidly travel great distances.

Ranchers are working with the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) and USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to eradicate the fever tick, however there is a unique challenge making it difficult to manage recent outbreaks. The Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refuge, controlled by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), consisting of 98,000 acres of protected natural habitat in Cameron and Willacy Counties, is acting as a safe harbor for the fever tick. The Refuge is in the center of the tick infestations and the FWS has not taken adequate steps to control its infestation of fever ticks on nilgai antelope and other wildlife. This has increased the likelihood of further infestations and is causing neighboring ranches to struggle in their efforts to keep fever ticks off their livestock.

The FWS has a great opportunity to work hand-in-hand with the affected ranchers, USDA-APHIS and TAHC to help eradicate the fever tick. We ask that the FWS develop and execute a plan to combat the spread of the fever tick from Laguna Atascosa to bordering properties. We invite you to visit the affected areas to discuss the fever tick issue with ranchers who are spending countless hours and financial resources to help with eradication efforts. In addition, we request that you and your counterparts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture communicate and coordinate with our neighbor to the South, Mexico. We have previously known Mexican cattle to have been exposed to Babesia bovis, a tick born parasite, that can lead to cattle fever. Let us keep in mind that this issue could become a national and transnational problem if we do not promptly take steps to tackle the issue at hand.

It is imperative that while we make strides in containing this problem in the state of Texas, we act with a larger goal in mind, to eradicate the problem in its entirety. If action isn't taken, the fever tick outbreak could extend outside of Texas, which is projected to cost at least $1.2 billion annually. It is critical to address the fever tick issue now. The longer we wait, the costlier eradication will be. We appreciate the opportunity to work with you and your staff to come up with commonsense solutions to eradicate the cattle fever tick. We are confident that with the U.S. Department of Interior on board, we can have a positive impact on the entire U.S. cattle industry.

Sincerely,

VICENTE GONZALEZ

Member of Congress

JODEY C. ARRINGTON
Member of Congress

JOHN CORNYN

U.S. Senator

TED CRUZ

U.S. Senator

WILL HURD

Member of Congress

HENRY CUELLAR, Ph.D.

Member of Congress

JOE BARTON

Member of Congress

MAC THORNBERRY

Member of Congress

BETO O'ROURKE

Member of Congres

GENE GREEN

Member of Congress

MICHAEL C. BURGESS, M.D.

Member of Congress

KEVIN BRADY

Member of Congress

MICHAEL T. McCAUL

Member of Congress

JOHN CARTER

Member of Congress

JEB HENSARLING

Member of Congress

PETE OLSON

Member of Congress

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

Member of Congress

BLAKE FARENTHOLD

Member of Congress

BILL FLORES

Member of Congress

PETE SESSIONS

Member of Congress

SAM JOHNSON

Member of Congress

RANDY WEBER

Member of Congress

MICHAEL CONAWAY

Member of Congress

JOHN RATCLIFFE

Member of Congress

JOAQUIN CASTRO

Member of Congress

KAY GRANGER

Member of Congress

LAMAR SMITH

Member of Congress

MARC VEASEY

Member of Congress

LLOYD DOGGETT

Member of Congress

LOUIE GOHMERT

Member of Congress

TED POE

Member of Congress

KENNY MARCHANT

Member of Congress

AL GREEN

Member of Congress

SHEILA JACKSON LEE

Member of Congress

ROGER WILLIAMS

Member of Congress

BRIAN BABIN

Member of Congress

JOHN CULBERSON

Member of Congress

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