The unusual operation is a critical part of a strategy to combat the spread of the flesh-eating screwworm fly, a pest that poses a serious threat to the beef industry, wildlife, and even household pets. The targeted release area focuses primarily on South Texas and the U.S.–Mexico border region.

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.

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.