EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA - A wall of hay bales used to corral a flock of ostriches in British Columbia in advance of an ordered cull has been charred by fire and parts of it are still smouldering.

Workers could be seen spraying the blackened areas with water as smoke billowed from the three-metre-high enclosure.

Ostriches are visible behind the wall, grazing and moving around, while several RCMP vehicles are stationed in front of the enclosure.

The wall was built Tuesday as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency began preparations to destroy about 400 birds after an outbreak of the avian flu was detected in some of the animals last December.

Tractor trailer trucks moved in with the hay shortly after the arrests of Karen Espersen, who is a co-owner of the farm, and her daughter,

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