The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has issued a stay in the case of a B.C. Ostrich farm fighting to stop a cull of its 400-bird flock over an avian flu outbreak.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency had been preparing to destroy the flock at Universal Ostrich Farm near Edgewood in southeastern B.C. after avian flu was detected in some of the animals last December.

The order, issued Wednesday, pauses the agency's Dec. 31, 2024 Notice to Dispose, while the court mulls the farm's application for leave to appeal a lower court decision that allowed the cull to proceed.

The SCC order says the application for leave to appeal will be dealt with on an expedited basis.

The court directed that the CFIA maintain custody of the birds and said the farm must not interfere with federal oversight pending

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