SAN FRANCISCO, California -- A federal appeals court has overturned the ban on imports of Canadian cattle, throwing out a lower court's ruling that renewing the imports could spread mad cow disease in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture was not immediately available to comment Thursday on when it would allow imports of Canadian cattle to resume.
The imports were banned in May 2003 after a cow in Alberta, Canada was found to have mad cow disease.
The unanimous decision Thursday by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a Montana judge who blocked the USDA from reopening the border in March, saying it "subjects the entire U.S. beef industry to potentially catastrophic damages" and "presents a genuine risk of death for U.S. consumers."
The justices said they would issue another ruling soon explaining their rationale.
The decision came a day after the U.S. Justice Department urged the appeals court in Seattle to reopen the border to imports.
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