B.C. ostrich farm wins stay of cull in federal appeal court, pending review

The Federal Court of Appeal has granted a stay that pauses the potential cull of nearly 400 ostriches at a B.C. farm.

Court records show that a motion to pause plans for the cull, pending an appeal, was granted Friday afternoon in Ottawa.

The owners of Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood, B.C., have been fighting an order from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to cull their flock after it was hit with an avian flu outbreak last year.

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Katie Pasitney, whose mother co-owns the farm, thanked supporters in a post on social media, saying the “next phase of the battle” will allow the farm to push forward for change.

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The plight of the ostriches has brought international attention to the farm, with protesters staying on the property to prevent the cull and activists decrying what they call government overreach.

The food inspection agency has said the type of avian flu infection present at the farm is a mutation not seen elsewhere in Canada.