The Supreme Court of Canada is set to issue a decision on Nov. 6 on whether to hear a last-ditch appeal against an ordered cull of ostriches at a British Columbia farm.
A list of leave applications that will be ruled upon on Thursday includes the challenge by Universal Ostrich Farms to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s order to cull the flock after an outbreak of avian flu was detected last Dec. 31.
If the court decides not to hear the case and lifts a stay on the cull, there will be no legal impediment to the killing of hundreds of birds, while if leave to appeal is granted, a final decision on the fate of the flock would come after a hearing.
The agency has faced increasing pushback from the farm and its supporters.
The first decision, a Notice to Dispose issued on Dec. 31, 2024, required the farm owners to dispose of all the ostriches by Feb. 1, 2025.
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The second decision, an Exemption Denial dated Jan. 10, 2025, denied the farm owner’s request to exempt at least some of its ostrich flock from destruction.
“The two decisions were made under s. 48 of the Health of Animals Act, S.C. 1990, c. 21, and in accordance with the CFIA’s Stamping-Out Policy, which is operationalized through the CFIA’s Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza 2022 Event Response Plan,” the Supreme Court of Canada says in a statement.
However, the Federal Court of Canada stayed the Notice to Dispose, pending determination of the judicial review application in the Federal Court, and then a single judge of the Federal Court of Appeal stayed the decision pending disposition of the farm owner’s appeal before the Federal Court of Appeal.
“The Federal Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the applicant’s motion for new evidence and dismissed the applicant’s appeal, finding that the Stamping-Out Policy, the Notice to Dispose and the Exemption Denial were all reasonable in accordance with the applicable case law,” the Supreme Court of Canada said.
The stamping-out policy is a measure implemented by the World Organization for Animal Health. It mandates that all animals in a flock are killed, even if avian flu is present in one bird.
–with files from The Canadian Press
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