On July 14, 2005, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that US meatpackers could resume Canadian cattle importation, ending a two year ban put in place after Canada discovered its first domestic case of mad cow disease. A week later, the Ninth Circuit released an opinion explaining the reversal. The court found that Montana District Court Judge Richard Cebull's March 2005 ruling, which barred the resumed importation of Canadian cattle, erred in declaring that reversing the ban would cause "irreparable economic harm'' and called the original ruling "alarmist" and "overstated." In October 2005, the Ninth Circuit said that it would not reconsider its decision.

Learn more about legal issues surrounding mad cow disease from the JURIST news archive.