B.C. Ostrich farm wins interim stay of order to cull birds over bird flu

A sign calling for the protection of ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farms is displayed at the farm in Edgewood, B.C., on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Aaron Hemens / The Canadian Press)

A B.C. ostrich farm fighting to stop a cull of its 400-strong flock over an avian flu outbreak has been granted an interim stay by the Federal Court of Appeal in Ottawa, delaying the execution of the birds.

Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., has been attempting to stop the Canadian Food Inspection Agency from destroying the birds since the cull was ordered amid an avian flu outbreak in December that would go on to kill 69 ostriches.

The farm has lost in Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, but on Thursday its lawyer sought another stay on the cull order, filing a series of documents as the farm seeks a hearing in Canada’s high court.

In a decision dated Saturday, the Federal Court of Appeal granted an interim stay until the stay motion “is decided on the basis of a full record.”

The decision says a notice to cull the birds is “hereby stayed pending the disposition of the stay motion,” with the deadline for the CFIA to respond to that stay motion being Tuesday.

“This gives us a little bit of time, not a lot,” lawyer Umar Sheikh, who represents the farm, said in an interview shorty after the interim stay motion was granted.

The farm, which argues the birds are now healthy, has maintained that they pose no threat and are scientifically valuable.

Sheikh said that the farm applied for the interim measure at the same time it applied for the stay, explaining that it wanted to prevent the CFIA from culling the ostriches before the court could rule on the stay.

The lawyer had said in a letter filed in the Federal Court of Appeal that the agency was “imminently” mobilizing to enforce the cull order.

Katie Pasitney, farm spokeswoman and daughter of the farm’s co-owner, said in a video posted to social media on Saturday afternoon that the granting of the interim stay allows several days of breathing room.

“It’s been a very emotional few days. It is still very emotional today,” Pasitney said in the video, which was recorded in front of an ostrich pen where she has posted numerous updates from the farm.

The farm has claimed the flock has been healthy for more than 230 days with no new avian flu infections, and the last death recorded in mid-January.

The CFIA says on its website that allowing a flock previously exposed to avian flu to remain alive means a potential source of the virus persists and increases the risk of reassortment or mutation of the virus.

The farm’s situation has drawn attention from officials in the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has repeatedly called for the animals to be spared and studied. Supporters seeking to avert a cull have also been camping out at the farm and staging musical concerts.

The interim stay motion notes that the CFIA is still allowed to take preparatory steps to kill the birds. It says that after the CFIA files its response to the application for a stay of the cull order, the farm will have until Wednesday to respond.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2025.