Usda

We must decide whether the district court erred in issuing a preliminary injunction prohibiting the implementation of a regulation of the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) permitting the resumption of the importation of Canadian cattle into the United States. We conclude that it did and therefore reverse the district court.

At the heart of this case lies a relatively new cattle disease caused by the practice of feeding cows, herbivores by nature, the brains and other central nervous system tissues of other cows. Technically known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (“BSE”), this disease, popularly known as mad cow disease, has spread from farms in England to 25 countries around the world since its discovery in 1986.

As BSE spread throughout the globe during the past 20 years, USDA instituted a policy of barring the importation of ruminants and ruminant products from countries where BSE was known to exist. In a final rule entitled Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy: Minimal Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities; Final Rule and Notice, 70 Fed.Reg. 460 (Jan. 4, 2005) (the “Final Rule”), USDA relaxed this longstanding practice, allowing limited ruminant imports…