The U.S. Appeals Court have issued their written decision.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/07/25/cow-border-050725.html
Last Updated Mon, 25 Jul 2005 18:36:42 EDT
CBC News
A U.S. court order that kept the border closed to live Canadian cattle imports until mid-July was deeply flawed, say the judges who overturned the injunction.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overruled the order on July 14, opening the door for live cattle under the age of 30 months to begin moving south again.
In a written copy of their decision released Monday, the judges said the original injunction by Montana Judge Richard Cebull was fundamentally flawed and based on legal error.
The order, granted on March 2, blocked a plan by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reopen the border to young Canadian cattle on March 7.
Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), the protectionist rancher's group that requested the injunction, had argued that Canadian cattle were rife with mad cow disease and posed a threat to the health of U.S. herds and to people.
Cebull agreed and argued it was necessary to prevent a "potentially catastrophic risk ... to beef consumers in the U.S."
In a 56-page written opinion, the appeal court judges disputed that claim, suggesting that Cebull had been swayed by R-CALF's experts without properly considering the judgment and expertise of the USDA.
The judges noted that the incidence of the mad cow disease in Canada is low and appears to be declining.
They also stated that imports of Canadian cattle wouldn't increase the risk in the United States of the disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
Further, the panel pointed to the broad support for resuming fuller trade with Canada from U.S. meatpackers and others.
If USDA plans to reopen the border "posed a true risk of exposing American beef to an irreparable stigma, one would not expect to see such a broad coalition of industry members supporting its implementation," the court said.
Canadian ranchers applauded the reasons for the decision, which one called a "very strong document."
The judges "really, with considerable detail, went through all the arguments," said Dennis Laycraft of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.
Last week, Cebull postponed a hearing in Montana where R-CALF was to argue for the indefinite closure of the border to all beef and beef products. The judge said he needed to read the appeal court's written decision before he decided whether to proceed with the hearing.
The United States closed the border to Canadian cattle and beef imports after the first case of mad cow disease was identified in Canada in May 2003. It resumed the import of some cuts of Canadian beef three months later.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/07/25/cow-border-050725.html
Last Updated Mon, 25 Jul 2005 18:36:42 EDT
CBC News
A U.S. court order that kept the border closed to live Canadian cattle imports until mid-July was deeply flawed, say the judges who overturned the injunction.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overruled the order on July 14, opening the door for live cattle under the age of 30 months to begin moving south again.
In a written copy of their decision released Monday, the judges said the original injunction by Montana Judge Richard Cebull was fundamentally flawed and based on legal error.
The order, granted on March 2, blocked a plan by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reopen the border to young Canadian cattle on March 7.
Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF), the protectionist rancher's group that requested the injunction, had argued that Canadian cattle were rife with mad cow disease and posed a threat to the health of U.S. herds and to people.
Cebull agreed and argued it was necessary to prevent a "potentially catastrophic risk ... to beef consumers in the U.S."
In a 56-page written opinion, the appeal court judges disputed that claim, suggesting that Cebull had been swayed by R-CALF's experts without properly considering the judgment and expertise of the USDA.
The judges noted that the incidence of the mad cow disease in Canada is low and appears to be declining.
They also stated that imports of Canadian cattle wouldn't increase the risk in the United States of the disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
Further, the panel pointed to the broad support for resuming fuller trade with Canada from U.S. meatpackers and others.
If USDA plans to reopen the border "posed a true risk of exposing American beef to an irreparable stigma, one would not expect to see such a broad coalition of industry members supporting its implementation," the court said.
Canadian ranchers applauded the reasons for the decision, which one called a "very strong document."
The judges "really, with considerable detail, went through all the arguments," said Dennis Laycraft of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association.
Last week, Cebull postponed a hearing in Montana where R-CALF was to argue for the indefinite closure of the border to all beef and beef products. The judge said he needed to read the appeal court's written decision before he decided whether to proceed with the hearing.
The United States closed the border to Canadian cattle and beef imports after the first case of mad cow disease was identified in Canada in May 2003. It resumed the import of some cuts of Canadian beef three months later.
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