The owners of the Universal Ostrich Farm are claiming they were on the cusp of launching a dietary supplement business worth $200,000,000 before the Canadian Food Inspection Agency seized its ostrich eggs.

Universal Ostrich Farm filed in court last week claiming the Canadian Food Inspection Agency unlawfully seized 1,200 ostrich eggs that were a “core biological input” for a commercially developed dietary supplement and pill product.

“Universal had invested substantially in the development, formulation, and commercial preparation of this product, which was on the cusp of a commercial market launch generating projected revenues in excess of $200,000,000,” the Notice of Claim reads.

Universal Ostrich Farm and Land Ventures, a company owned by Karen Espersen and Dave Bilinski, is suing the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the RCMP, and the Attorney General of Canada, accusing them of trespass, animal cruelty, unlawful seizure of ostrich eggs, and destroying their business.

The farm claims that the warrant obtained by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency contained no “legal, moral, or statutory right to occupy” the property.

“The warrant used to enter the property was not based upon any disclosed fact and the ongoing occupation of the property was without legal right,” the court documents read.

The lawsuit comes also almost one year to the day since the Canadian Food Inspection Agency culled more than 300 ostriches at the farm in Edgewood, following an outbreak of avian flu which the farm failed to report.

In the months before the cull, as the farm launched numerous legal challenges, protestors arrived at the farm, and the RCMP were called in.

Throughout the saga, Karen Espersen and her daughter Katie Pasitney appealed to the public for money and publicly raised $280,000, calling the birds they’d previously slaughtered “pets.”

By the end, it had cost taxpayers $6.8 million.

In April, Bilinski told iNFOnews.ca that none of the creditors the farm owed $250,000 had been paid back despite court orders.

A CBC investigation found Espersen and Bilinski exaggerated and made false claims about their birds, the business and the scientific findings, with one virologist calling it a “scam.”

The farm also claims the $942,000 offered to them by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency as compensation for culling the birds doesn’t represent market value, calling it an “inadequate offer.”

Espersen and Bilinski accuse the Canadian Food Inspection Agency of animal cruelty and negligence over the “inhumane destruction” of the ostriches.

“These acts constitute actionable negligence under common law and may further constitute violations of Criminal Code of Canada,” the court documents read.

The court documents also claim that some of the ostriches went “missing” and that there are “unaccounted birds.”

“Universal demands a full and complete accounting of every bird in CFIA’s custody, and compensation for each unaccounted bird at its full market value,” the Notice of Claims reads.

The farm also claims the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has “refused and/or neglected” to provide documentation to it, and it demands full access to its records.

In an emailed statement, Espersen said the lawsuit was about “justice, accountability, and meaningful policy change,” but failed to answer questions about whether any of the people owed money had been paid back.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it would respond to the allegations through the court process in due course.