Six States Join R-CALF Effort
To Block Canadian Live Cattle
BILLINGS, Mont. — Six states are joining a Montana-based livestock group’s effort to re-close the U.S. border to live cattle from Canada.
The attorneys general of New Mexico, Connecticut, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana have filed amicus curiae briefs, or friend of the court briefs, in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asking for a rehearing of R-CALF USA's petition to keep the Canadian border closed to live cattle and beef products because of reports of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in Canada.
The U.S. border with Canada was closed after Canada reported a BSE case in May 2003.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced after the first of the year that it would reopen the Canadian border and allow live cattle to move into the U.S. in March. R-CALF USA filed a lawsuit against the USDA to keep the border closed.
On March 2, just days before the border was to open, U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull here in Billings granted R-CALF's request for a preliminary injunction and ordered the U.S.-Canadian border to remain closed for live cattle trade and trade in certain beef products.
USDA appealed the preliminary injunction to the Ninth Circuit Court on March 17. A three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court reversed Cebull's action and opened the border.
Canadian cattle began to cross the border into the U.S., beginning in New York on July 18.
R-CALF has petitioned the appeals court for a rehearing before the full panel of judges, asking that the preliminary injunction be reinstated and that the border again be closed to trade in cattle and beef.
The petition, and the amicus curiae briefs, cite the danger of exposing U.S. cattle to BSE. They claim letting Canadian cattle into the U.S. puts both the nation's cattle herd and U.S. consumers at risk, though BSE is thought to be passed only through feed contaminated with protein from infected cattle.
"R-CALF USA remains grateful for the support these states have shown through their consistent concern with this matter, and we look forward to the opportunity to present these scientifically valid concerns to the full Ninth Circuit," Bill Bullard, R-CALF chief executive officer, says in a prepared statement.
To Block Canadian Live Cattle
BILLINGS, Mont. — Six states are joining a Montana-based livestock group’s effort to re-close the U.S. border to live cattle from Canada.
The attorneys general of New Mexico, Connecticut, West Virginia, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana have filed amicus curiae briefs, or friend of the court briefs, in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asking for a rehearing of R-CALF USA's petition to keep the Canadian border closed to live cattle and beef products because of reports of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, in Canada.
The U.S. border with Canada was closed after Canada reported a BSE case in May 2003.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced after the first of the year that it would reopen the Canadian border and allow live cattle to move into the U.S. in March. R-CALF USA filed a lawsuit against the USDA to keep the border closed.
On March 2, just days before the border was to open, U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull here in Billings granted R-CALF's request for a preliminary injunction and ordered the U.S.-Canadian border to remain closed for live cattle trade and trade in certain beef products.
USDA appealed the preliminary injunction to the Ninth Circuit Court on March 17. A three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court reversed Cebull's action and opened the border.
Canadian cattle began to cross the border into the U.S., beginning in New York on July 18.
R-CALF has petitioned the appeals court for a rehearing before the full panel of judges, asking that the preliminary injunction be reinstated and that the border again be closed to trade in cattle and beef.
The petition, and the amicus curiae briefs, cite the danger of exposing U.S. cattle to BSE. They claim letting Canadian cattle into the U.S. puts both the nation's cattle herd and U.S. consumers at risk, though BSE is thought to be passed only through feed contaminated with protein from infected cattle.
"R-CALF USA remains grateful for the support these states have shown through their consistent concern with this matter, and we look forward to the opportunity to present these scientifically valid concerns to the full Ninth Circuit," Bill Bullard, R-CALF chief executive officer, says in a prepared statement.