R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America
"Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer"
For Immediate Release &nbs p; Contact: Shae Dodson, Communications Coordinator
July 3, 2008 &n bsp; Phone: 406-672-8969; e-mail:
[email protected]
R-CALF USA Members Win Third Injunction Against USDA's BSE Rules
Billings, Mont. –
The United States District Court – District of South Dakota, Northern Division (District Court), today granted in part R-CALF USA's and 10 additional plaintiffs' (Plaintiffs') motion for a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) OTM (over-30-month) Rule. The OTM Rule, on Nov. 19, 2007, opened the Canadian border to imports of live cattle born after March 1, 1999, and beef products from Canadian cattle of any age.
In his 21-page opinion, District Court Judge Lawrence L. Piersol ordered that Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction be granted in part and that "the case be remanded to the USDA to promptly provide notice and comment on the OTM beef provisions . . . and to revise any provisions of the OTM Rule it deems necessary." The District Court also ordered that the remainder of Plaintiffs' case be stayed during the administrative proceeding required by the remand.
"For the third time in R-CALF USA's five-year long battle to secure adequate protections for both U.S. consumers and U.S. cattle producers, R-CALF USA was awarded an injunction against USDA's wrongful actions," said R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry, a Missouri veterinarian. "This latest decision demonstrates the legitimacy of R-CALF USA's persistent claim that the USDA is cavalierly exposing consumers and cattle producers to a known source of BSE contamination," he added.
"R-CALF USA had made a special plea to the Secretary of Agriculture, prior to issuance of the OTM Rule, not to allow OTM beef imports without giving the public the opportunity to comment, which the District Court has now affirmed is needed. Instead, USDA played 'hide the ball' with the public, issuing a proposal that only addressed resuming imports of cattle born after March 1, 1999, followed by a final rule that also allowed imports of beef from Canadian cattle of any age."
In their Motion for Preliminary Injunction, the Plaintiffs raised 7 separate arguments, the first of which was that USDA failed to provide proper notice and opportunity for public comment prior to lifting the ban on Canadian imports of OTM beef.
The District Court found that "Plaintiffs are likely to prevail on the merits of their first claim that the USDA failed to comply with the APA [Administrative Procedure Act] in promulgating the beef provisions of the OTM Rule. This conclusion requires remand to the USDA for additional proceedings and, therefore, the Court will not reach Plaintiffs' other challenges to OTM Rule at this time."
The District Court also found that the Plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction were not granted and concluded that remanding the OTM Rule to USDA for additional rulemaking is in the public interest. Judge Piersol also declined to order Plaintiffs to post a bond – typically required for a preliminary injunction – "because Plaintiffs are non-profit organizations and individual ranchers attempting to further the public interests and the goals of" the Animal Health Protection Act.
"The effect of this decision is that USDA is now forced to go back to do what should have been done before the OTM Rule was published in the first place," said R-CALF USA President Thornsberry.
"In addition, all of our other claims will remain pending before the District Court, thus providing additional pressure on USDA during the Court-ordered rulemaking process to write a rule that will provide the United States with necessary protections to prevent the introduction of BSE from Canada."
Thornsberry said that R-CALF USA will also take the District Court's decision back to the congressional sponsors of the Resolution of Disapproval, which was introduced last fall to overturn the entire OTM Rule, to once again ask Congress to step forward to limit USDA's discretion on such an important decision as protecting U.S. consumers and the U.S. cattle herd against the introduction of BSE. "During this remand period we will have the opportunity to involve all three branches of government simultaneously – the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, which is an opportunity we've never before had in our 5-year long fight to secure adequate protections," said Thornsberry.
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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-st reet businesses are associate members. For more information, visit
www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.
