After chasing debts through the courts, creditors of a high-profile ostrich farm in southeastern B.C. are hoping the Canada Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will help them recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars in the event of a cull.
CFIA wants to destroy more than 300 birds belonging to Universal Ostrich Farms Inc., located in Edgewood, B.C., nearly nearly 100 kilometres east of Kelowna, because of the threat of avian flu, which was detected in some of the animals last December.
As the farm has sought public support and donations for a federal court battle to keep the flock alive, creditors claim the business owners have ignored B.C. Supreme Court orders to repay debts worth more than $250,000.
As a result, two creditors have attempted to garnishee the CFIA in a bid to intercept any compensation issued to the ostrich farm if Canada's top court allows the slaughter to go ahead, and a third says he intends to follow suit.
"It's a very unique situation here at the moment," said Steven Cope, a lawyer for a pair of Fort St. John businessmen who obtained a $140,000 judgment against Universal Ostrich last May.
"The only [asset that can be levied or taxed] that they have are two-legged animals that are under quarantine facing a death penalty.
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