Canada's top court has brought the long-running B.C. ostrich farm dispute to an end, dismissing the appeal from Universal Ostrich Farms and leaving the federal cull order against its flock in place.
The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the farm's appeal, The Canadian Press reported on Tuesday, closing off the last legal avenue for the Edgewood-area farm, whose roughly 400 ostriches were ordered culled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency over avian influenza concerns. The farm had argued its birds were healthy and held research value, and its constitutional challenge had already failed at the lower-court level.
The case drew national attention far beyond the West Kootenay, with supporters gathering at the farm and advocates framing the dispute as a fight over government overreach in animal-health enforcement. In British Columbia, reaction poured in from Vancouver and across the province as the decision landed.
“This decision is a profound disappointment,” farm spokesperson Katie Pasloski said in response to the ruling. The farm's owners have maintained throughout that the flock posed no threat and should have been tested rather than destroyed. The CFIA has consistently defended cull orders as essential to containing avian flu and protecting Canada's poultry industry and trade status.
