USDA may send veterinarians to Mexico

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A lawyer representing veterinarians working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture says the vets do not want to be assigned to inspections in Mexico.

The department stopped conducting inspections in Mexico in 2010 for safety reasons. But it is considering having veterinarians inspect cattle at a Mexican facility near the border with Texas, CNN reported Saturday.

The facility is in an area where a State Department advisory suggests U.S. visitors "defer non-essential travel" because of drug violence.

"Nobody is holding a gun to their head ... yet," said Bill Hughes, a lawyer for the National Association of Federal Veterinarians, which opposes the plan. "But USDA officials have told them in no uncertain terms that when they're assigned there they better go or there are going be serious consequences to their careers, such as losing their jobs."

The Department of Agriculture said no one will be ordered into an area considered dangerous by the State Department.