Alsager c. Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food), 2011 FC 1071 (2011) Cour Fédérale
Docket Number: P-3-10
Parts: Alsager c. Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food)
Reporting Judge: The Honourable Mr. Justice Russell, Deputy Assessor
Linked as:
Extract
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Alsager c. Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food), 2011 FC 1071 (2011)
Federal Court - Alsager v. Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food)
Source:
http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/2011/2011fc1071/2011fc1071.html Health of Animals Act
Registrar of Appeals
Loi sur la santé des animaux
Greffier des appels
Date: 20110914
Docket: P-3-10
Citation: 2011 FC 1071
Ottawa, Ontario , September 14, 2011
PRESENT: The Honourable Mr. Justice Russell, Deputy Assessor
BETWEEN:
RICK ALSAGER
Appellant
(or Mr. Alsager)
and
THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD CANADA
Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT AND JUDGMENT
INTRODUCTION
[1] This is an appeal by Mr. Rick Alsager (Mr. Alsager or the Appellant) pursuant to section 56(1) of the Health of Animals Act , S.C. 1990, c. 21 (Act) of the final compensation awards (Decision) for the Appellant’s depopulated elk herd made in accordance with the valuation appraisal of Dr. Betty Althouse (Dr. Althouse), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Evaluation Committee Chair, dated May 6, 2010, (Evaluation Report). Mr. Alsager believes that Dr. Althouse and CFIA undervalued many of the animals in his elk herd that was depopulated by May 27, 2010. The animals were destroyed pursuant to a Destruction Order issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Minister) following a positive result of chronic wasting disease (CWD) confirmed by the National Laboratory in Ottawa of one of Mr. Alsager’s elk. The Minister has paid compensation to Mr. Alsager in accordance with the Decision but Mr. Alsager believes that some of his animals were unreasonably undervalued and he is appealing the amount of the assessment.
BACKGROUND
[2] The Appellant owns and operates a hunt ranch near Maidstone , Saskatchewan. Customers attend the Appellant’s ranch and pay to experience a trophy hunt in natural surroundings.
[3] On April 16, 2010 it was confirmed that one of the Appellant’s elk had tested positive for CWD, a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that causes a progressive neurological disease in elk and other cervidae. CWD is generally believed to be caused by abnormal proteins called prions that affect the animal’s central nervous system. It is inevitably fatal.
[4] CWD is a reportable disease under the Act and the Reportable Diseases Regulations , SOR/91-2.
[5] Also on April 16, 2010, a Notice of Quarantine was issued by the CFIA to the Appellant pursuant to section 6 of the Health of Animals Regulations C.R.C., c. 296 that placed all cervids on certain parcels of the Appellant’s property under quarantine.
[6] On April 23, 2010, the CFIA issued a Notice of Requirement to Dispose to the Appellant pursuant to subsection 48(1) of the Act stating that destruction would occur by May 31, 2010.
[7] The Minister engaged the Appellant for the purposes of valuing his animals for purposes of compensation under the Compensation for Destroyed Animals Regulations , SOR/2000-233.
[8] An evaluation team approach was used which included: Dr. Althouse, chairperson on behalf of the CFIA; Roger Holland, an industry representative appointed by the Appellant; and Dr. Robert Hope, a representative of the CFIA.
[9] On April 27, 2010, a compensation meeting (Compensation Meeting) was held in North Battleford where the Appellant, his sons Jan and Lane, Roger Holland, Dr. Hope and Dr. Althouse were in attendance. Dr. Althouse was the chairperson for the evaluation with the appropriate delegated authority. General matters of valuation were discussed at the meeting and it was determined that Roger Holland and Dr. Hope would each produce his own report on the valuation of the elk. At the time of the Compensation Meeting, inventories of the elk were not available and so the number of elk to be depopulated and valued was estimated for the purposes of the reports.
[10] For bull elk, antlers are the basis for the Safari Club International scoring system (SCI) used by the industry to value male elk. The bull elk in this case had not yet fully grown their antlers for the 2010 season; antlers will generally grow in full in the autumn. Without the antlers to score and with little supporting documentation respecting the value of the animals, valuation was difficult in this case.
[11] Roger Holland and Dr. Holt completed their respective reports and submitted them to Dr. Althouse for consideration. On May 5, 2010 Dr. Althouse completed her Evaluation Report on a preliminary basis based on the estimation of inventory.
[12] By May 27, 2010, the Minister had depopulated the Appellant’s elk. The fallow deer, owned by the Appellant’s son, Lane Alsager, were also depopulated. The white-tail deer and the mul...
More disturbing to me is they are operators of a Hunt farm. 
