The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will move ahead with the planned cull of 399 birds at a British Columbia ostrich farm despite the regional district’s refusal to accept the birds’ carcasses at any of its landfills.
Universal Ostrich Farm, located in Edgewood, B.C., has been in conflict with CFIA regarding the culling of 399 birds following the farm’s unsuccessful court case to protect them.
The federal inspection agency told The Epoch Times in an email it plans to move ahead with the cull, despite the Regional District of Central Kootenay passing a resolution last week not to allow the CFIA to dispose of ostrich carcasses in its landfills pending further testing of the birds for avian flu.
Aidan McLaren-Caux, a board vice-chair with the Regional District of Central Kootenay, has said if the birds get tested and are found to be well, the hope is that the cull order will be rescinded.
But CFIA has said the cull will move ahead, adding that it will not be sharing its plans or the date of the cull with the public.
“The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is aware of the Regional District of Central Kootenay’s motion to not accept the ostriches,” a spokesperson said in the email. “The CFIA will begin the humane depopulation and disposal of birds at the infected premises with veterinary oversight.”
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“We have a duty to protect Canadians from the serious potential risks that Avian Influenza presents to our people and our economy.”
The agency initially identified the birds in December following the deaths of two ostriches, which were subsequently tested for H5N1, commonly referred to as avian flu. The agency said the other birds would need to be culled after the test came back positive. However, the family operating the farm successfully obtained a court injunction pending the judicial review.
The ostrich farm set to be the subject of the cull is run by Karen Espersen and her business partner Dave Bilinski. The owners unsuccessfully challenged CFIA’s cull of its flock in federal court. The farm owners argue that the birds have developed herd immunity, and that they’re being used for research, and should be spared culling.
The judicial review was dismissed on May 13 after the judge said the agency’s decision was “reasonable” and “made in a procedurally fair manner.”
Espersen said the farm, located 150 kilometres south of Kelowna, will be in “operation security” mode until a court appeal can be prepared.
“We’ve got all our gates blocked, and we’ve got people around the clock around the perimeter of the facilities, so we’re doing everything to make sure that we can take it to the next level,” she said in a video posted to the farm’s Facebook page.“Our birds are happy and healthy. They look beautiful. They’re performing for everybody that stops by … And we really want the world to see that this is wrong, what’s going on. And we’re not going to let it happen.”
In addition to losing the appeal, the farm has been ordered to pay $15,000 by the courts to CFIA.
An agency spokesperson acknowledged that depopulation can be a “distressing outcome” for the owners of the animals affected, but said if an owner refuses to meet the requirements outlined by the CFIA, the agency could move forward with depopulation itself, or use a third party contractor.
“This could mean withholding part or all compensation for the depopulation from the owners,” the spokesperson said in the email.
Compensation for destroyed animals is awarded to owners in accordance with the Health of Animals Act and under the Compensation for Destroyed Animals and Things Regulations, the spokesperson said.
“Compensation is based on the fair market value of the animals,” the spokesperson said. “For ostriches, compensation of up to $3000 per bird may be awarded when there is supporting documentation. While compensation may not offset the emotional toll of depopulation, it can provide resources to recover and reestablish operations.”
Katie Pasitney, whose parents own the farm, says she hasn’t heard from the CFIA yet, but her family saw the news that the authority will do the cull, in a way that it chooses, without prior notice. The original source of the virus was migrating ducks, the farm owners said.
Pasitney says there is a lack of trust and transparency in the process, and it’s unreasonable that the organizations that were supposed to work with the farmers end up working against them.
Opponents of the cull have been shooting videos and live streaming from the farm over the weekend, with one person saying on a video that they will take on a “much more serious long-term activism role.”
The Canadian Press and Chandra Philip contributed to this report.
