[JURIST] A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled [PDF text] Thursday that that US meatpackers can resume Canadian cattle importation, ending a two-year ban put in place after Canada discovered its first domestic case of mad cow disease [Wikipedia backgrounder]. The court said in a brief order that the injunction blocking a US plan to lift the ban had to be reversed and that the order was "effective immediately." The court added that a later opinion would provide a more detailed explanation of its ruling. American meatpackers supported the USDA's case, saying shipments of live cattle were needed to avoid laying off workers and limiting plant production while R-CALF [advocacy website], a group of based in Montana representing 18,000 ranchers and feedlot owners, argued that opening the border to Canadian cattle would increase uncertainty about the safety of US beef and encourage other countries to reject US meat exports. Read the USDA press release on the ruling. Reuters has more.