Overview

• Universal Ostrich Farms filed new documents at the Federal Court of Appeal asking for an emergency stay of the CFIA’s cull order.
• The farm’s affidavit says an agency enforcement member indicated the destruction is planned within days, while the CFIA declined to disclose operational timelines.
• About 400 ostriches remain under CFIA‑supervised quarantine, and the farm says the flock has been healthy for more than 230 days after 69 deaths during December’s outbreak.
• The farm is also pursuing ministerial reconsideration and seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada after lower courts upheld the cull authority.
• The CFIA warns that keeping an exposed flock risks viral persistence or reassortment and notes reported H5N1 antibodies in people associated with the farm, adding that apparently healthy ostriches can still spread disease.