Federal Judge Rules That Cull Of 400 Ostriches With Avian Bird Flu Can Proceed

Photo Credit: Maple Ridge News

Early last month, a federal judge upheld the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) decision to cull 400 birds at the Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood, BC, sparking controversy in BC and beyond. 

In December 2024, an outbreak of avian influenza was contracted by ostriches at the farm. The farm is home to approximately 400 birds, and since the outbreak in December, almost 70 ostriches have died, with many more infected.

Governments worldwide have been monitoring a strain of highly pathogenic avian flu known as H5N1, the same virus contracted by the birds at Universal Ostrich Farms. 

Avian flu is a highly contagious viral infection that primarily affects birds and occasionally humans. The CFIA reports that the variant of flu found on the farm contains a particular genotype that led to the human infection of a poultry worker in Ohio earlier this year. This particular strain is the first of its kind to be detected in Canada. 

Culling ostriches is the process where an ostrich is removed from a flock and euthanized. In early May, the farm owners issued a bid for a judicial review of the CFIA’s cull order, which a Federal Court judge denied. As of now, the cull will proceed sometime in the near future, though details about the timing and methods have not been disclosed. The Federal Court has ruled that the owners may be compensated with a maximum of $3,000 for each bird following the cull.

The owners of Universal Ostrich Farms have repeatedly argued against a cull, stating the birds have a unique resistance to avian flu as well as COVID-19. The CFIA has conducted investigations and testing, and says there is no scientific evidence to back up the claims.

The CFIA states that the farm did not follow the correct quarantine procedures and failed to report initial cases of the illness. In a statement to Global News, the CFIA commented on how “these actions significantly increase the risk of disease transmission and reflect a disregard for regulatory compliance and animal health standards.” For their negligence, the CFIA says the farm owners will be fined $20,000. 

The National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease (NCFAD) added in a statement that the strain of avian flu caught by the ostriches is a “novel reassortment, not seen anywhere else in Canada.” They commented on how the “apparent evidence of ostrich to human transmission is a concern and highlights the risk of delays in completing the disposal of the infected flock.”

However, the cull order has drawn international attention, including from the convoy group BC Rising, US billionaire John Catsimatidis, US health official and television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, and US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

Dr. Oz offered to relocate the 400 ostriches to his ranch in Florida. Katie Pasitney, daughter of the farm’s owners, said in an interview with Global News that while her family appreciates the gesture, they’re “not looking at transporting [their] ostriches anywhere, but [she] thinks the message is [about] the growing support across the States.” In an interview with CTV News, she said that the farm will only consider relocation “as a last resort.”

Kennedy Jr. addressed a letter to the CFIA, urging them to reconsider the cull. The letter was co-signed by the heads of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, who plan to collaborate with Kennedy Jr. and the farm in using the bird's “immunity” for scientific advancements. 

In a social media post, Kennedy Jr. commented that he “hope[s] that this collaboration will help [them] understand how to better protect human and animal populations and perhaps lead to the development of new vaccines and therapeutics.”

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has validated the CFIA’s order to cull. The CFIA’s response to this outbreak follows WOAH’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code, using a method known as “stamping out” to manage the spread of avian flu.

The family owners of the Universal Ostrich Farms said in a recent social media post that they are “heartbroken by this outcome and are uncertain about the future of our farm.” Pasitney explained in an interview with My Kootenay Now that “it’s not a crisis just for our family, it's a wake-up call for all Canadians. Like with Covid, when we later realized the price that we paid for the rushed decisions we made, we are risking irreversible damage and this time it’s to our farmers, our heroes who put food on our tables.”