A B.C. ostrich farm fighting to stop a cull of its 400-strong flock over an avian flu outbreak has been granted an interim stay order by the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa, delaying the execution of the birds.
Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., has been attempting to stop the Canadian Food Inspection Agency from destroying the birds since the cull was ordered amid an avian flu outbreak in December that would go on to kill 69 ostriches.
The farm has lost in Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, but on Thursday its lawyer sought another stay on the cull order, filing a series of documents as the farm seeks a hearing in Canada’s high court.
In a decision dated Saturday, the Federal Court of Appeal granted an interim stay until the stay motion “is decided on the basis of a full record.”
The decision says a notice to cull the birds is “hereby stayed pending the disposition of the stay motion,” with the deadline for the CFIA to respond to that stay motion being Tuesday.
A B.C. ostrich farm has lost its case to save its birds from a cull order issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in January. A federal court has rejected the farm’s appeal to prevent the culling of its flock, which had been infected with avian flu. The farm’s owners say they will not be giving up, and have called on supporters to gather with them this weekend to “stand against destruction and shine a light of love.”
The farm, which argues the birds are now healthy, has maintained that they pose no threat and are scientifically valuable.
