EDGEWOOD, B.C. — Mounties in British Columbia say they are investigating "escalating threats of violence" directed at businesses linked or thought to be associated with a cull of some 400 ostriches, which have been spared for now.

RCMP say businesses across the province have been "flooded" with calls and emails with "language intended to intimidate" should they continue participating in the cull ordered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in response to an outbreak of avian influenza first detected at Universal Ostrich Farms last December.

The birds were spared, at least temporarily, by an interim stay granted by the Supreme Court of Canada on Wednesday as it considers an application by the farm for leave to appeal a lower court decision that allowed the cull to proceed.

The CFIA say

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