An ostructal BC farm that fights to stop a sacrifice of its flock of 400 people on an avian flu outbreak has been granted a provisional stay order by the Federal Court of Appeals of Ottawa, delaying the execution of birds.
Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, BC, has been trying to prevent the Canadian Food Inspection Agency from destroying birds since the sacrifice was ordered in the middle of an avian flu outbreak in December that would kill 69 ostriches.
The farm has lost in the Federal Court and in the Federal Court of Appeals, but on Thursday his lawyer sought another suspension in the order of sacrifice, presenting a series of documents while the farm seeks a hearing in the Superior Court of Canada.
In a decision dated Saturday, the Federal Court of Appeals granted a provisional stay until the stay motion “decides on the basis of a complete record.”
The decision says that a notice to select the birds “for this is waiting for the disposition of the stay motion”, with the deadline for the CFIA to respond to that motion of stay on Tuesday.
A BC Ostrich farm has lost its case to save its birds from a sacrifice order issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in January. A Federal Court has rejected the appeal of the farm to avoid the sacrifice of its flock, which had been infected with the avian flu. The owners of the farm say they will not give up, and have asked the supporters to meet them this weekend to “face destruction and relieve love.”
The farm, which argues that birds are now healthy, has maintained that they do not represent a threat and are scientifically valuable.
