Two owners of about 400 ostriches have been arrested because they defied orders to leave their farm so the Canadian Food Inspection Agency can have them euthanized to prevent the spread of highly-pathogenic avian influenza.
Two birds have been confirmed to be infected, prompting the CFIA to decide they need to be destroyed.
Karen Espersen, co-owner of Universal Ostrich Farms, and her daughter, Katie Pasitney, were arrested at the farm in Edgewood, B.C.
The CFIA order to cull the birds was issued in December, but the owners have fought it in courts which so far have ruled in favour of the CFIA.
They owners have yet to receive a response to their application to the Supreme Court of Canada.
