Federal Court of Appeal rejects B.C. ostrich farm’s bid for stay of cull order

By Canadian Press on September 12, 2025.

OTTAWA — The Federal Court of Appeal has denied an application for another stay order to delay a cull of about 400 ostriches at a British Columbia farm that was hit by an outbreak of avian influenza.

Katie Pasitney, the spokeswoman for Universal Ostrich Farms, says the ruling means an interim stay granted last weekend to give the farm time to make legal submissions “no longer exists.”

It leaves the farm in Edgewood, B.C., without legal protection against the cull proceeding.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the slaughter on Dec. 31, 2024, during an outbreak of H5N1 avian flu that killed 69 ostriches.

The farm has been fighting the cull order ever since, but it lost its case in Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal.

It had been seeking another stay to mount a challenge at the Supreme Court of Canada.

But the Appeal Court says it has been denied, with Justice Gerald Heckman disregarding affidavits filed by the farm in response to submissions by the CFIA on the stay application, in line with what it says are court rules.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2025.

The Canadian Press

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