Overview
- The case tests whether Universal Ostrich Farms can appeal CFIA orders issued after highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected on Dec. 31, 2024.
- If the court refuses leave and lifts its temporary stay, the CFIA would face no legal barrier to euthanizing hundreds of birds; if leave is granted, a hearing would follow.
- The CFIA took custody of the flock in September and reports 300 to 330 birds with no deaths since Oct. 4, rejecting online claims of secret culling and citing winter care preparations.
- The farm says surviving ostriches show no illness and alleges poor conditions under CFIA care, while a spokeswoman has urged supporters to gather at the property.
- The orders were made under s.48 of the Health of Animals Act and the agency’s Stamping-Out Policy, which the Federal Court and Federal Court of Appeal found reasonable, as legal scholars note the Supreme Court rarely grants leave in such cases.