Five mink farm owners have lost a lawsuit they brought against the provincial government which ordered their avian-flu-infected animals destroyed.
The province shut them down in November, 2021, in the midst of a devastating round of highly-pathogenic avian influenza in poultry flocks.
B.C.is the only jurisdiction in North America to shut down an entire farm sector.
The province, former agriculture minister Lana Popham, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and former chief veterinarian Dr. Rayna Gunvaldsen were named in suits launched by each of the five farms: C&A Mink Ranch Ltd., Dargatz Mink Ranch Ltd., Dogwood Fur Farms Ltd., Engerbretson Fur Farm Ltd. and Williams Fur Farm Ltd.
The five lawsuits each alleged “misfeasance in public office and constructive taking” by the defendants, allegations which Justice Amy Francis said are flawed.
Francis ruled that “the plaintiffs have failed to plead facts capable of establishing that any of the defendants acted unlawfully” and further that “the claim of constructive taking is fundamentally flawed.”
Francis said that the enactment of the order in council shutting down mink farming in the province, even if “for political reasons rather than public health reasons” is not unlawful.
The Canada Mink Breeders Association and British Columbia Mink Producers Association also lost their challenges.
