CFIA says B.C. ostrich farmers must leave by Tuesday or face arrest

The owners of an ostrich farm, whose flock is subject to a cull order, must leave today or face removal by police called in by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

RCMP and CFIA officials arrived Monday and served a warrant on the farm in southeastern British Columbia, where the owners have been fighting the cull order prompted by an outbreak of avian influenza that went on to kill 69 ostriches.

Katie Pasitney, whose mother is a co-owner of Universal Ostrich Farms, posted a video to her Facebook page Monday evening showing a CFIA official telling the farmers they would be allowed to stay in the birds' pen overnight.

However, the unnamed man says the CFIA has control of the property and there would be "consequences" if the farmers did not leave voluntarily overnight or on Tuesday.

The farmers have brought their fight to save about 400 surviving ostriches to multiple levels of court, arguing they are now healthy and scientifically valuable, while the CFIA has said they were infected with a more lethal strain of the virus.

The farmers have repeatedly called for testing to determine the birds' status, and Pasitney told the media Monday that the farmers' lawyer was filing paperwork in an attempt to have the case heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.