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Supreme Court Halts Planned Cull of B.C. Ostriches, Orders CFIA to Hold Custody

The agency now faces an Oct. 3 response deadline under an interim stay issued during heightened enforcement at the Edgewood farm.

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Karen Espersen, the co-owner of the Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., celebrates with her family after learning that an interim stay order was granted by the Supreme Court of Canada on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, delaying the culling of 400 of the farm’s ostriches. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens
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Overview

  • Justice Michelle O’Bonsawin granted an interim stay that pauses enforcement of the CFIA’s stamping-out policy and requires the flock to remain in agency custody on site.
  • The Supreme Court set filing deadlines, directing the CFIA to respond to the leave application by Oct. 3, after which the farmers have two days to reply before a decision on whether the appeal can proceed.
  • RCMP arrested co-owner Karen Espersen and her daughter Katie Pasitney on Tuesday after they refused to leave a pen; both were released and the ostrich enclosures remain under CFIA control.
  • A three-metre hay-bale wall built to corral the birds was charred and smouldering on Wednesday as crews doused hotspots, and authorities have not indicated any change to operational posture.
  • The cull order followed avian flu detected last December that killed nearly 70 birds, and lower courts rejected the farm’s challenges as the CFIA cited risks from a more lethal strain.