MAD COW DISEASE

Judge rejects meatpackers' bid to resume Canadian beef imports

A federal judge on Monday rejected an effort by American meatpackers to lift all mad cow-related barriers to Canadian beef shipments. The ruling by U.S. District Judge John Garrett Penn was the latest rebuff to supporters of reopening the northern border to Canadian cattle. The United States banned Canadian cattle when mad cow disease turned up in May 2003 in Alberta. The import ban was to have been lifted Monday on Canadian cows under 30 months of age, but a federal judge in Montana last week granted a request from U.S. ranchers to keep the border closed. The Senate also voted last week in favor of a resolution against the Bush administration's decision to allow Canadian cows back into the country. The developments are "a blow to free trade," said Mark Dopp, senior vice president and general counsel to the American Meat Institute, the packers' trade group. "The U.S. meat industry continues to believe as strongly as ever that full trade in beef and cattle products with Canada is justified by both the science and world animal health guidelines," Dopp said Monday. The Agriculture Department was pleased with Monday's ruling, spokesman Ed Loyd said. "USDA has decided to consider this issue through a separate rule-making process," Loyd said. The department currently is determining whether there is risk in allowing shipments of Canadian cattle older than 30 months and meat from older Canadian animals....