pa-56-42-1526: New world screwworm wildlife importation order # 1

Summary

Executive Order Whereas , New World screwworm (NWS) is a serious disease that affects all warm-blooded animals, including wildlife, domestic animals, and humans; and Whereas , the disease is caused by Cochliomyia hominivorax a parasitic blowfly whose larvae feeds on living tissue; and Whereas , NWS has been designated a ''dangerous transmissible disease'' of animals by order of the Secretary of Agriculture under the provisions of the Domestic Animal Law (3 Pa.C.S. §§ 2301 2389) at 3 Pa.C.S. § 2321(a)(37); and Whereas , NWS has been designated as a foreign animal disease by the United States Department of Agriculture; and Whereas , NWS was previously eradicated from the United States in 1966 and again in 2017 following a brief outbreak in Florida; and Whereas , NWS reemerged in Texas in June 2026 but has not yet been detected within the Commonwealth; and Whereas , The Commission desires to prevent the emergence of NWS within the Commonwealth; and Whereas , NWS is of particular concern to the Commonwealth because of its potential to have a detrimental impact on both wild and domestic animal populations; and Whereas , The Commission has determined that importation of any wildlife from locations where NWS has been detected in wild or domestic animal populations into the Commonwealth poses an unacceptable risk of NWS introduction and spread within the Commonwealth; and Whereas , The Game and Wildlife Code (34 Pa.C.S. §§ 101, et seq.) and regulations promulgated thereunder (58...

The agency’s own summary, as published.