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MT Judge sets July hearing
Montana Judge Sets July Hearing on Canada Cattle
Thu March 17, 2005 7:20 PM GMT-05:00
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration will face off in federal court on July 27 with an American rancher group suing to keep the U.S. border closed to imports of live Canadian cattle because of mad cow disease concerns.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Cebull in Billings, Montana, on Thursday set the court date to hear arguments that pit the U.S. Department of Agriculture against R-CALF USA, an activist rancher group.
R-CALF, which has been successful in two previous attempts with Cebull in restraining beef and cattle trade, is suing to stop USDA from allowing imports of young Canadian cattle. R-CALF has cited two more cases of mad cow disease discovered in Canada at the beginning of 2005.
Two weeks ago, Cebull granted R-CALF's request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily suspend a USDA plan that would have allowed Canada to export young live cattle to the United States for the first time since 2003, when mad cow disease was discovered in Alberta.
At the July hearing in Billings, the judge will hear arguments on whether to make the injunction permanent.
Late Thursday, the U.S. government filed an emergency appeal with the federal appeals court in San Francisco to overturn the preliminary injunction.
"We remain confident that the requirements of the minimal-risk rule, in combination with the animal and public health measures already in place in the United States and Canada, provide the utmost protection to both U.S. consumers and livestock," the USDA said in a statement.
The National Meat Association, a group representing meatpackers, earlier this month also filed an emergency appeal. U.S. meatpackers want quick access to the Canadian cattle, which they say are needed to keep slaughter plants operating efficiently.
R-CALF also wants Cebull to stop U.S. imports of boxed beef from Canada.
The USDA planned to open the U.S. border on March 7 to Canadian cattle younger than 30 months old, saying those animals presented little or no risk for carrying mad cow disease. Scientists believe the brain-wasting disease needs several years to incubate within an animal's brain and nervous system.
On March 3, the U.S. Senate voted 52-46 to maintain a trade ban on Canadian cattle.
Montana Judge Sets July Hearing on Canada Cattle
Thu March 17, 2005 7:20 PM GMT-05:00
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration will face off in federal court on July 27 with an American rancher group suing to keep the U.S. border closed to imports of live Canadian cattle because of mad cow disease concerns.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Cebull in Billings, Montana, on Thursday set the court date to hear arguments that pit the U.S. Department of Agriculture against R-CALF USA, an activist rancher group.
R-CALF, which has been successful in two previous attempts with Cebull in restraining beef and cattle trade, is suing to stop USDA from allowing imports of young Canadian cattle. R-CALF has cited two more cases of mad cow disease discovered in Canada at the beginning of 2005.
Two weeks ago, Cebull granted R-CALF's request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily suspend a USDA plan that would have allowed Canada to export young live cattle to the United States for the first time since 2003, when mad cow disease was discovered in Alberta.
At the July hearing in Billings, the judge will hear arguments on whether to make the injunction permanent.
Late Thursday, the U.S. government filed an emergency appeal with the federal appeals court in San Francisco to overturn the preliminary injunction.
"We remain confident that the requirements of the minimal-risk rule, in combination with the animal and public health measures already in place in the United States and Canada, provide the utmost protection to both U.S. consumers and livestock," the USDA said in a statement.
The National Meat Association, a group representing meatpackers, earlier this month also filed an emergency appeal. U.S. meatpackers want quick access to the Canadian cattle, which they say are needed to keep slaughter plants operating efficiently.
R-CALF also wants Cebull to stop U.S. imports of boxed beef from Canada.
The USDA planned to open the U.S. border on March 7 to Canadian cattle younger than 30 months old, saying those animals presented little or no risk for carrying mad cow disease. Scientists believe the brain-wasting disease needs several years to incubate within an animal's brain and nervous system.
On March 3, the U.S. Senate voted 52-46 to maintain a trade ban on Canadian cattle.