Groups Granted Status in BSE Case

CALGARY - Jun 8/05 - SNS -- The Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA), Alberta Beef Producers (ABP), the Government of Canada, American Farm Bureau and National Cattlemen's Beef Association were granted amicus curiae "friend of the court" status in the USDA appeal of the preliminary injunction keeping the U.S. border closed to imports of live Canadian cattle.

Amicus curiae status was granted today by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco. The decision stems from an appeal of the U.S. District Court judge's denial of its request for intervenor status in the permanent injunction case.

Amicus curiae briefs permit those affected by the outcome of a case to provide relevant information for consideration by the judge or judges deciding the matter.

The CCA's brief notes that CCA has both a significant economic interest in the outcome of the proceeding, and an equal and related interest in how the United States structures and implements its BSE regulations.

As the U.S. and Canadian beef and cattle markets are viewed globally as largely integrated, the policy decisions and standards established in either country have an impact on the industries of both in their ability to trade internationally.

The brief argues in part that the district court abused its discretion by failing to accord deference to the voluminous and scientifically substantiated record entered by USDA while at the same time adopting, often verbatim, the unsupported and inaccurate conjecture offered by R-CALF.