Mad cow stalls beef imports

BILLINGS, Mont. -- A federal judge on Wednesday granted a livestock group's request to postpone reopening the border to cattle and expanded beef imports from Canada because of concerns about mad cow disease in that country.\nThe U.S. Department of Agriculture had planned to reopen the border beginning Monday.\nBut following arguments from livestock interests that the government's plan was premature, U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull granted a temporary court order preventing it from going into effect.\nR-CALF United Stockgrowers of America sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture in January, seeking to block Canadian cattle and beef imports. The Billings-based ranchers' group contends the USDA plan would pose a risk to both consumers and U.S. cattle producers.\nThe cattle organization had asked the judge to keep the USDA from implementing the plan until the lawsuit is heard. Cebull ordered attorneys for both sides to prepare for a trial in that case.\nThe group's attorney, Cliff Edwards, told Cebull in court Wednesday it would be "insane" to allow the import of cattle from a country that has already reported two new cases of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, this year.\n"This boils down to plain old common sense," he said.\nAn attorney for the government, Lisa Olson, argued that the plan was as safe as it possibly could be and was based on science.\n"There's no health risk here," Olson said.\nWhen Canada reported a case of mad cow disease in May 2003, the United States banned Canadian cattle and beef products. Restrictions were later relaxed to allow imports considered at very low risk of mad cow.\nThen, in December, the government announced plans to further expand trade, including allowing live cattle under 30 months old and certain other animals and beef products from Canada beginning Monday.