Canada’s Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the planned culling of nearly 400 ostriches at a British Columbia farm, after the owners of Universal Ostrich Farms challenged the order in court.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency had scheduled the mass cull following an avian flu outbreak that previously killed 69 birds on the farm.
But in a ruling on Wednesday, Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin ordered that the ostriches remain in CFIA custody while the Supreme Court considers whether to hear the farm’s appeal.
The agency was also directed to provide food, water, and veterinary oversight for the flock.
The decision comes just one day after farm co-owners Katie Pastiney and her mother, Karen Espersen, were briefly arrested.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the pair obstructed food inspection agents “from performing their duties” while trying to feed the birds. RCMP officers were present at the farm under a court-issued search warrant, citing “increased tensions” and ongoing “protests.”
“Allowing a domestic poultry flock known to be exposed to avian influenza to remain alive allows a potential source of the virus to persist,” the CFIA explained when it first ordered the cull in December.
“It would increase the possibility of reassortment or mutation, particularly with birds raised in open pasture where there is ongoing exposure to wildlife. This could also increase the human health risk.”
Pastiney has been vocal in her opposition to the cull. In a Facebook post, she said she and Espersen were arrested while attempting to care for the ostriches.
Over the months, she has also sought international backing, attracting responses from US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, who urged the CFIA in May to “study the birds instead,” and Dr Mehmet Oz, who offered to re-home the ostriches at his Florida ranch.
Pastiney also called on former US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to intervene, though the farm declined Oz’s relocation proposal.
On Tuesday, Pastiney shared video footage online of CFIA workers constructing hay-bale enclosures to corral the birds. Part of the makeshift barrier later caught fire, though the cause remains unknown. Fire crews were dispatched to put out the flames.
Protesters have gathered at the Edgewood, B.C. farm since Monday, demonstrating against the presence of federal agents and police.
The Supreme Court’s involvement follows a Federal Court of Appeal ruling on 12 September, when Judge Gerald Heckman determined that the farm had not presented any “serious or arguable issue” to prevent the cull.
Justice O’Bonsawin’s order prevents the farm from interfering with CFIA’s custody of the birds. The agency must file its response to the appeal by 3 October.
