Tensions between protesters and the Canadian authorities over a cull order at an ostrich farm in rural British Columbia momentarily broke last week, after the Supreme Court halted the killing of hundreds of birds that became infected with avian flu, as it weighed whether to hear the case to spare them.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) plans to euthanize more than 300 ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., which tested positive for the disease in December, have faced increasing pushback from the farm and its supporters.
Culling of infected birds is standard practice and in line with the World Organization for Animal Health.
The fight to save the birds
Almost a year after the outbreak, the owners’ battle to save the surviving birds continues to garner the attention of locals, farm supporters and prominent health officials, some of whom are associated with the Trump administration, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who chimed in to urge Canadian health authorities not to kill the ostrich flock.
In May, he wrote a letter to the president of the CFIA, requesting that the cull be cancelled. U.S. real estate billionaire John Catsimatidis has also asked that the Canadian government spare the farm from its cull order, according to The Guardian.
The clash with federal agencies has drawn hundreds of people to the farm; their interest, the Guardian writes, is founded in residual post-pandemic mistrust of the government, doubts over the efficacy of vaccines and calls for more evidence that the birds were ill in the first place.
What led to the cull order?
According to the farm’s website, on Dec. 10, 2024, a three-year-old ostrich exhibited symptoms similar to pneumonia. Despite recovering, the farm says, some younger ostriches fell ill, resulting in 69 deaths among the 468 ostriches, or 15 per cent of the original herd, over a 36-day period.
It claims that only birds that arrived at the farm after 2020 became ill and that ostriches previously exposed to a bacterial infection in 2020 showed no new symptoms or deaths, suggesting the birds had achieved “herd immunity.”
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In a May federal court ruling, a judge found that allowing the birds to remain alive could lead to the spread of avian influenza to other animals, the poultry industry or humans.
Moreover, the CFIA says “the application of the stamping out policy for this farm has been upheld by the Federal Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal and is supported by scientific evidence.”
The stamping out policy is a measure implemented by the World Organization for Animal Health. It mandates that all animals in a flock are killed, even if avian flu is present in one bird.
What is Universal Ostrich Farms?
Universal Ostrich Farms claims to operate as a facility dedicated to studying the “robust” immune systems of ostriches.
According to its website, the company ceased production of ostrich meat in 2020, shifting its focus to a research-driven approach. However, the farm claims that the CFIA is working against its research interests.
“The farmers believe their farm has the potential to provide critical insights into managing and controlling diseases in wild populations, such as migratory ducks and other wildlife species,” the website states.
Karen Espersen, centre, the co-owner of Universal Ostrich Farms, speaks with supporters with her daughter, Katie Pasitney, at the farm in Edgewood, B.C., on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens
“Why isn’t the CFIA working with us to come up with a solution… why are they so determined to destroy our healthy ostriches and stamp out their natural immunity?” it continues.
Andrew Fenton, a bioethicist at Dalhousie University, told The Guardian that the lack of clarity over how the birds are being used has implications for the health risks the flock poses to food systems as well as the health of human and other animal populations.
Unrest on the farm
The Supreme Court’s stay order came a day after police arrested the farm’s owners for obstructing food inspection agents “from performing their duties,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said, according to a BBC report.
Police said the food inspection agents were granted a warrant to search the farm’s property at the request of the agents due to “increased tensions” and “protests” on the farm, the BBC added.
People living near the ostrich farm say the ongoing outrage and protests have them fearing for their safety.
Still, after months of protests over the CFIA’s decision to humanely euthanize the entire flock, area residents remain divided.
“I believe that that’s treason what the CFIA is doing to the people of Canada,” Nakusp resident Monty Paul told Global News.
Randy Donselaar, who was born and raised in Edgewood and returned following his retirement, said the drama over the fate of the birds has been going on for far too long and that the vast majority of locals don’t support Universal Ostrich Farms.
A sign calling for the protection of ostriches at the Universal Ostrich Farms is displayed at the farm in Edgewood, B.C., on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
AJH
“I think there’s general sympathy for the birds but not for the farm itself due to their inability to be forthright and honest from the get-go,” Donselaar said in an interview.
A tense situation
“It is very volatile,” said another longtime resident who requested anonymity over safety fears. “One person in Edgewood has been assaulted.”
RCMP confirmed that shortly after they arrived at the farm on Monday, police received a report of an alleged assault on one of the neighbours.
That person received treatment from RCMP medics, while a man who doesn’t live in the area was arrested.
The suspect was released from custody pending further investigation and approval of charges.
Early Wednesday, a hay bale wall set up around the flock was set on fire.
CFIA said Friday that its policy “aims to protect both public and animal health, as well as minimize impacts on the $6.8 billion domestic poultry industry, and the Canadian economy.
“This supports Canadian families and poultry farmers whose livelihoods depend on maintaining international market access for $1.75 billion in exports,” it concluded.
— with files from Global News Kristen Robinson
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
