The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to drop millions of flies over Texas and Mexico, in an effort to quell the emergence of a flesh-eating maggot known as the New World screwworm.

The federal government plans to combat flesh-eating maggots threatening U.S. livestock by dropping millions of sterile flies from airplanes over Texas and Mexico.

Texas officials and organizations reacted positively to the announcement of a sterile fly dispersal facility coming to South Texas as part of a plan to protect the U.S. from New World screwworms.