A flock of 300 ostriches on the B.C. farm at the centre of an avian flu dispute was herded into a hay bale pen Thursday by members of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency after the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an application from the owners of the Universal Ostrich Farm to hear an appeal to save their flock.
Around 4 p.m., about 10 trucks and SUVs pulled up at the farm in Edgewood, B.C., and men could be seen carrying items into the pen.
Lights were set up around the perimeter on top of the hay bales as night descended on the farm.
Around 6 p.m., gunshots were heard coming from the farm as supporters gathered nearby yelled and prayed for the birds. A Global News camera person, who has since left the scene, captured the sounds of gunfire and a new shift of RCMP officers arriving to secure the area. It remains unclear what the current state of the birds is. All but a few protesters have since cleared out.
The court unanimously dismissed the applicant’s motion for new evidence and dismissed the farm owner’s appeal, finding that the Stamping-Out Policy, the Notice to Dispose and the Exemption Denial were all reasonable in accordance with the applicable case law.
“The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will be moving forward to complete depopulation and disposal measures as authorized by the Health of Animals Act and guided by the stamping out policy for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI),” the CFIA said in a statement on Thursday morning.
It is not known how the ostriches will be culled, but “best practices” are described in a manual that outlines methods of killing ostriches by breaking their necks, lethal injection, gassing or shooting.
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The Universal Ostrich Farm challenged the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) order to cull the flock after an outbreak of avian flu was detected last Dec. 31.
In an update posted to Facebook on Thursday morning, the daughter of the farm’s co-owner, Katie Pasitney, said, “This is what pain looks like, Canada,” holding back tears.
“She’s going to lose everything she’s ever loved for 35 years,” Pasitney added, referring to her mother, the farm’s co-owner, who could be seen crying in the background. “That’s what pain looks like when the government fails you.”
The CFIA said the farm owners failed to report the initial cases of illness and deaths when the herd was infected.
The CFIA has said the application of the avian flu 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.
In addition, the CFIA says that additional laboratory analysis of the original samples from the ostriches has determined that current Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza infection in the birds is a “novel reassortment not seen elsewhere in Canada.
“This assortment includes the D1.3 genotype, which has been associated with a human infection in a poultry worker in Ohio,” the CFIA stated.
“Laboratory analysis also found this novel reassortment event has enhanced the pathogenicity of this particular H5N1 genotype. Even minimal quantities of the virus could be lethal, with a rapid time to death of four to five days in mice exposed to even low doses.”
The issue has been a contentious one on both sides, with the fate of the birds garnering international attention.
U.S. billionaire John Catsimatidis personally financed the farm’s legal defence and drew the attention of U.S. officials after learning of the case earlier this year.
At a press conference on Thursday following the decision announcement, Catsimatidis said he paid about $35,000 U.S. in legal fees, which he called “very little,” saying it wasn’t about the money.
“I’m asking for sympathy and for common sense to prevail, and I guess to the prime minister, whether you’re president of the U.S. or prime minister, it goes on those people’s shoulders,” he said.
The CFIA has faced increasing pushback from the farm and its supporters as the case made its way through the courts.
The first decision, a Notice to Dispose, was issued on Dec. 31, 2024, and required the farm owners to dispose of all the ostriches on its farm by Feb.1, 2025, after laboratory testing confirmed infection of two dead ostriches with the H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza
The second decision, an Exemption Denial dated Jan. 10, 2025, denied the farm owner’s request to exempt at least some of its ostrich flock from destruction.
“The two decisions were made under s. 48 of the Health of Animals Act, S.C. 1990, c. 21, and in accordance with the CFIA’s Stamping-Out Policy, which is operationalized through the CFIA’s Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza 2022 Event Response Plan,” the Supreme Court of Canada said in a statement.
After 69 birds died of avian flu, the farm’s owners argued the surviving ostriches have “herd immunity” and wanted them tested.
The Federal Court of Canada stayed the Notice to Dispose, pending determination of the judicial review application in the Federal Court, and then a single judge of the Federal Court of Appeal stayed the decision pending disposition of the farm owner’s appeal before the Federal Court of Appeal.
“The Federal Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the applicant’s motion for new evidence and dismissed the applicant’s appeal, finding that the Stamping-Out Policy, the Notice to Dispose and the Exemption Denial were all reasonable in accordance with the applicable case law,” the Supreme Court of Canada said.
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.
-with files from The Canadian Press and Alessia Maratta
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