The $10,000 fine against an Edgewood, B.C. ostrich farm over quarantine regulations has been overturned.
Universal Ostrich Farms was originally charged with the penalty for failing to follow quarantine requirements under the Health of Animals Regulations.
The fine was upheld by the Canada Agriculture Review Tribunal in December but overturned Feb. 6 due to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) failure to properly deliver the quarantine notice in person.
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Universal Ostrich Farms was at the centre of a months-long conflict between government agents and protesters, after positive H5N1 tests resulted in a CFIA cull order of the flock of more than 300 birds.
According to the Feb. 6 tribunal decision, which Universal Ostrich Farms posted to social media, the farm challenged the fine “on a procedural basis by asserting they were not properly served with the quarantine notice that they have been penalized for breaching.”
It called the CIA’s failure to personally deliver the order “fatal to its case” and said the agency did not prove any exceptional circumstances justifying it.
In a post to the Universal Ostrich Farms Facebook group, Katie Pasitney, daughter of the farm’s owners who has also been at the forefront of the cause, said the farm “welcomes the clarity provided by the Tribunal and hopes the decision contributes to improved transparency, consistency, and confidence in regulatory processes across Canada’s agricultural sector.”
