1 hour ago
Swift News
The owners of a British Columbia ostrich farm whose flock is subject to a cull order must leave Tuesday or face arrest by police, according to videos taken at the scene.
RCMP were called in to help support the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and to serve a search warrant at the Edgewood, B.C., property on Monday, where the owners of Universal Ostrich Farms have been fighting a cull order prompted by an outbreak of avian influenza that killed 69 of their ostriches.
In a video posted to Facebook Tuesday morning by Katie Pasitney, whose mother is a co-owner of the farm, a man wearing a jacket labeled "RCMP" tells Pasitney she will be arrested if she doesn't leave.
"You have to leave the property.... The other option is, my compatriots here have to come in and arrest you," the man says.
The video is filmed through the ostriches' pen and shows CFIA officials and multiple police officers on the other side of its wire fence.
In a separate video posted by Pasitney, a man, who identifies himself as a CFIA inspector, tells the farmers they would be allowed to stay in the birds' pen overnight Monday.
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.
RCMP said in a statement that the CFIA is the lead agency in the matter.
"Our primary role is to keep the peace and enforce the law while CFIA agents conduct their business," RCMP said.
