An American ranchers group is continuing its struggle through the courts to close the border to Canadian cattle and beef.
R-CALF filed its petition on Sept. 7 for a rehearing before the full panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the unanimous decision to overturn a Montana district court’s ruling that had temporarily closed the border.
The appellate court of three judges overturned the decision July 14. That allowed Canadian cattle younger than 30 months to enter the country under a special United States Department of Agriculture rule issued last March.
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If critical products are unavailable when needed, it could result in unnecessary human and animal deaths in the worst-case scenario.
“The rehearing is a last ditch effort. The odds of them getting it are pretty slim but they have gone against us before,” said Darcy Davis, chair of the Alberta Beef Producers.
The Alberta organization and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association filed requests to be heard but were turned down. Both groups continue to retain trade lawyers in Washington and they are prepared to answer this latest claim, said Davis.
R-CALF argued the rehearing is needed because of inconsistencies in the appellate decision and a failure to appreciate the risk to the American industry if cattle from a BSE positive country were imported.
In its petition it criticized the USDA’s “failure to attempt to quantify the risk presented by resuming Canadian imports, and indeed its statement that it had not even determined what level of cattle and human deaths would be acceptable as a result of the Final Rule, made it impossible for the public and the reviewing court meaningfully to assess USDA’s policy choices in the Final Rule and its assurances that the risk was acceptable and very low.”
The petition also stated the panel attempted a detailed review of facts not fully developed in the district court nor fully presented on appeal, and that meant the bench missed or misunderstood key aspects of the case.
The petition admitted part of the concern is financial. It said BSE is a disease that is difficult to control with important potential effects on human health, U.S. livestock and export markets.
“The long-term health of our nation’s cattle herd and our beef consumers is at stake, as is the economic well-being of our U.S. cattle industry,” said R-CALF executive officer Bill Bullard in a written statement.
Members of the appeals court have 21 days to decide if they wish to hear the case again. If there is no response by the end of September, this particular avenue is closed.
“It’s very rare those kinds of requests are granted,” said John Masswohl of the CCA.
