B.C. ostrich farm applies for stay of cull as it seeks appeal at Supreme Court of Canada

The British Columbia ostrich farm in a months-long legal battle to stop the Canadian Food Inspection Agency from destroying hundreds of its birds wants to further delay the cull as it seeks a hearing in Canada’s high court.

A lawyer for Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., says in a letter filed in the Federal Court of Appeal on Thursday that the agency is “imminently” mobilizing to enforce a cull order issued in December after avian flu spread in the flock.

Court documents filed by the farm as it seeks a stay order say the agency has refused requests for an “administrative pause” on the cull, which will “irreversibly destroy a flock built over decades” and render any appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada moot.

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The filings say the birds have been under quarantine supervised by the agency, but the approximately 400 ostriches could be “slaughtered at any moment,” unless the court orders a stay pending another appeal.

The documents say the flock has been “healthy” for more than 230 days with no new avian flu infections, with the last death recorded in mid-January.

The letter says Universal Ostrich Farms wants to explore two routes of legal recourse to stop the cull, including asking the agency or the minister to reconsider in light of fresh evidence, and to seek a hearing at the Supreme Court of Canada.