Court won't reconsider mad cow decision
10/14/2005, 3:23 p.m. ET
By DAVID KRAVETS
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ó A federal appeals court said Friday it will not reconsider its July decision allowing the resumption of Canadian cattle imports into the United States.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had allowed federal agricultural officials to reopen the border to Canadian cattle, which were banned in May 2003 after a cow in Alberta was found to have mad cow disease.
A group of cattle ranchers, known as Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America, brought the suit on behalf of U.S. ranchers. They said allowing the imports from Canada threatened the U.S. meat stream with mad cow disease.
The group, known as R-CALF USA, convinced a Montana federal judge earlier this year to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture's decision to allow the cattle's return. After the San Francisco-based appeals court reversed that decision in July, agricultural officials promptly opened the border.
A three-judge panel of the court ruled unanimously that if the USDA believed it was safe to reopen the border, the judiciary should step aside. In a decision announced Friday, the appeals court said it would not reconsider the July ruling.
Losing parties to cases before the circuit court often request new hearings, but they are rarely granted.
R-Calf USA said it was considering its options, which include appealing to the Supreme Court.
Mad cow disease is the common name for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE. People who eat meat tainted with BSE can contract a degenerative, fatal brain disorder called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or vCJD. More than 150 people died from the disorder following a 1986 outbreak in the United Kingdom.
U.S. meat processors and packers opposed the rehearing. They supported the USDA's conclusion that Canadian cattle was safe.
