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The
9th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a motion by USDA
to dismiss an appeal by Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal
Fund in an ongoing dispute over the import of live cattle
from Canada.
The court turned down the motion for summary affirmance,
a seldom-used strategy that in effect asks the court to
refuse to hear a case because all of the facts have been
settled, saying that "the arguments raised in response to
the motion [by R-CALF] are sufficiently substantial to warrant
further argument."
R-CALF now has until Dec. 11 to submit a brief arguing that
the case should be returned to a lower court in Montana
for a full hearing of R-CALF's contention that the rule
allowing imports of live Canadian cattle into the United
States not only puts the U.S. beef herd in danger, but also
violates USDA's own standards.
R-CALF Chief Executive Bill Bullard told Meatingplace.com
that the ruling is a positive sign in the three-year controversy.
"It's an early Thanksgiving present," he said. "USDA tried
to pre-empt our appeal, but the court held that we have
a right to present our argument."
He added that "hundreds of pages" of testimony has never
even been considered by the court, and that a win in the
9th Circuit will mean that R-CALF can for the first time
present its entire case to a court.
Bullard said he expects a decision in the appeal sometime
in the first quarter of 2007.
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