"U.S. court blocks Canadian cattle
Last Updated Wed, 02 Mar 2005 20:09:26 EST
CBC News
BILLINGS, MONT. - A judge in Montana has granted a temporary injunction to stop the U.S. government from reopening the border next week to Canadian cattle.
* INDEPTH: Mad Cow Disease
(CBC/Peter McCluskey)
The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), which claims if the border reopens it will cause producers immediate and irreparable damage.
U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull, who said he would give his written reasons Wednesday or Thursday, told the lobby group for American ranchers that they should apply for a permanent injunction.
It is likely the U.S. Department of Agriculture will appeal his decision, but it is unknown whether an appeal could be heard quickly enough to make a difference for the reopening date.
The border was set to open to young cattle, those under 30 months, starting on Monday, March 7, and Canadian producers were beginning to ready shipments for the first time in 21 months.
"It's definitely not a good day for our industry," said Ted Haney, president of the Canada Beef Export Federation, adding that it may be time to start investigating Canada's options under the World Trade Agreement or the North American Free Trade Agreement.
* FROM JAN. 12, 2005: Don't open border to cattle, U.S. politicians say
R-CALF claims that reopening the border will hurt the U.S. cattle industry economically, pose a threat to consumers and create losses of up to $3 billion US.
They said the border reopening would increase the risk of importing contaminated beef products from cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy – mad cow disease – into the U.S. They argue that would shatter consumer confidence in the American cattle industry.
Canada would ship two million animals south in the first 12 months if the border reopens, R-CALF says. The American cattle industry has been reaping high prices for their animals since the border closed.
The group also claims Canada has failed to adequately test for BSE and that letting Canadian cattle into the U.S. could harm trade negotiations with countries like Japan. Japan closed its borders to the U.S. after a Canadian-born cow tested positive in Washington state.
The U.S. banned Canadian cattle imports in May 2003 when mad cow disease was discovered in a Canadian cow.
Late last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared Canada was a minimal risk country.
During Wednesday's hearing, Cebull asked a number of questions about whether American consumers would be aware of where their beef came from and how great the risk was of a BSE-infected animal crossing the border. The USDA argued the risk would be minimal.
R-CALF succeeded last year in obtaining an injunction to halt a USDA decision to allow additional cuts of meat from Canada, also argued in front of Cebull.
International Trade Minister Jim Peterson said the ruling was "a real setback."
"We will use every possible measure we can to get the border reopened again," Peterson said. "We received assurances the border would be open March 7, we agreed it would be a science-based determination, and the Americans came up and inspected all the processes and found them to be the highest standard.
"I'm very disappointed.""
a montana judge can block the imports of cattle from a entire other country, into a entire country, even states not his own???
