On February 25, the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation filed an objection to a magistrate judge’s recommendation to deny SAF’s request for preliminary injunction in its lawsuit against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) puppy ban. A district judge will now take a fresh look at SAF’s arguments that the CDC’s Dog Rule should be halted until the full legal process can play out.
“While we’re disappointed with the magistrate judge’s recommendation to deny our motion for preliminary injunction, we still feel strongly that the recommendation, and CDC’s defenses, miss the mark,” said Michael Jean, litigation counsel for the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “We’re hopeful the district judge will agree.”
Oral arguments on the preliminary injunction were delivered before a magistrate judge in December 2024. The magistrate judge delivered a report and recommendation to deny the preliminary injunction in early February 2025. That recommendation is passed along to the presiding district judge for a final decision. However, because SAF objected to the recommendation, the district judge will now review the request for preliminary injunction outside of the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation.
SAF’s legal arguments remain sound. CDC exceeded its authority in promulgating the Dog Rule, and precedent from multiple courts, including the Supreme Court, concludes just as much. Additionally, just days before oral arguments, CDC announced a forthcoming notice of proposed rulemaking to potentially change the dog import rule. The notice indicates that CDC is second-guessing its own rule and may propose revisions to the requirements for the importation of dogs. Still, CDC continues to defend its unlawful rulemaking.
“We remain confident that our multiple pleadings not only show that CDC’s Dog Rule is unlawful, but that a preliminary injunction is necessary and proper to stop the harm our members are experiencing as a result,” said Torin Miller, associate litigation counsel for the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “We’re asking the district judge to see through the government’s smoke and mirrors and see the rule for what it is – an egregious usurpation of authority.”
For more on this case, which affects anyone who hunts behind a dog and dog trainers in particular, visit sportsmensalliance.org.
