Today, October 7, 2024, the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation took another critical step toward halting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) new dog import rule and puppy ban by filing a response to CDC’s written opposition to our preliminary injunction request. Granting or denying the injunction is now in the hands of a federal judge who will determine the fate of the new rule going forward.
CDC responded to the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation’s injunction motion with an extremely unorthodox theory that the new rule, among other things, is lawful because banning puppy imports is an “inspection.” We roundly rejected this claim with both common sense and a pile of cases that conclusively show that courts require an “inspection” to include actual physical inspections, as one might expect.
“It’s unbelievable how badly the CDC is grasping at straws to support this massive government over-reach,” said Dr. Todd Adkins, Senior Vice President of Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “As we’ve said since filing suit against this egregious rule: CDC doesn’t have the authority, nor is there any need, to ban dog imports from countries with no risk of rabies.”
CDC’s new import rule is wreaking havoc on those who own, train and breed sporting dogs, including individuals who travel from Canada to the United States to engage in hunting and trialing events across the border. These negative consequences far outweigh the CDC’s obvious red-herring argument that the new rule is meant to prevent rabies because border agents are not checking for rabies vaccinations at the border with the rule in place. If the CDC believed its own press releases, such checks would be performed.
“In no way, shape, or form do puppies under six months of age coming from low-risk countries pose a danger anywhere close to meeting this legal threshold,” said Michael Jean, Litigation Counsel for Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “The CDC even admits there’s no threat and isn’t requiring proof of vaccinations for dogs over six months of age from these countries, so this puppy ban is completely arbitrary for the sake of agency convenience at the expense of sporting-dog enthusiasts.”
With the filing of our answer to the CDC response, the injunction decision now rests with a federal judge who will either hold a hearing or make a ruling without a hearing. The timing is entirely within the discretion of the judge, but the millions of sportsmen and women who own, train, breed, hunt and compete with sporting dogs remain hopeful that a decision will happen soon. The Sportsmen’s Alliance will keep our members informed as the case moves forward.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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