Edgewood's Universal Ostrich Farms says it has formally petitioned the federal minister of agriculture and agri-food to rescind a cull order for its flock of nearly 400 ostriches.

Instead of a cull, the farm wants approval of a "scientifically validated, risk-managed protocol" for what it says is Canada's only ostrich flock to successfully recover from avian influenza.

It was an outbreak of avian flu that prompted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) December 2024 court order to cull the birds. Months of court proceedings have followed that initial order as the farm has fought the decisions, most recently through the Federal Court of Appeal.

"After 239 consecutive disease-free days under continuous CFIA quarantine, the company proposes immediate confirmatory testing overseen by

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