CFIA culls ostrich flock exposed to highly pathogenic avian influenza
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Friday it employed "professional marksmen" to cull an ostrich flock exposed to highly pathogenic avian influenza at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, British Columbia, bringing to a close a nearly year-long legal dispute.
"As part of its disease response policy, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has culled the ostrich population on a farm in Edgewood, British Columbia," the agency said in a statement. The property remains under quarantine while the CFIA completes its response operations.
After consulting with experts experienced in managing ostrich disease outbreaks, the CFIA said it concluded that the most appropriate and humane option was to use professional marksmen in a controlled, on-farm setting.
"There’s nothing professional or humane about putting almost 330 birds in a square pen in the dark of night and shooting at them," Katie Pasitney, a spokesperson for Universal Ostrich Farms, told CNN, calling the cull "traumatizing."
The CFIA ordered the cull after detecting highly pathogenic avian influenza on the farm in December 2024. The agency cited its "stamping out" policy — the practice of killing exposed or infected animals to prevent further spread — and said it acted to protect Canada’s poultry industry.
Universal Ostrich Farms had mounted a legal challenge to the order; supporters and the farm's owners argued that surviving birds might offer scientific value for research into antibodies. U.S. conservative figures, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voiced support for reconsidering the cull. Kennedy wrote that the birds could provide "the potential to study both antibody levels and cellular immunity to help further our scientific understanding of the virus and the immune physiologic response."
The CFIA rejected those claims as unsubstantiated, saying it had "not received any evidence of research activities" at the farm nor proof the quarantined flock could uniquely produce eggs containing antibodies. The Canadian Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case, removing the final legal obstacle to the CFIA's action.
The agency took full control of the farm and its animals in September. Supporters have periodically protested near the property; the CFIA warned demonstrators not to interfere with operations and reminded the public that drone flights over the site are illegal.
Officials have emphasized the broader public‑health and economic rationale: Canada’s poultry industry is valued at nearly $7 billion, and the CFIA reports British Columbia has recorded more avian influenza cases than any other province, with an estimated 11,439,000 birds affected as of Oct. 28. Neighboring Alberta has reported roughly 2,000,000 birds impacted.
What remains uncertain
Questions remain over whether any surviving ostriches could contribute to research, but the CFIA has maintained that no credible evidence was provided to support that possibility. The cull and the legal fight highlight tensions between disease-control policy and calls for alternative scientific approaches when managing high‑risk outbreaks.
