Canadian federal agency says cull over, all ostriches shot dead at
British Columbia farm
[November 08, 2025]
EDGEWOOD, British Columbia (AP) — A Canadian federal agency said
Friday it has shot dead all ostriches at a British Columbia farm,
fulfilling a 10-month-old cull order over a bird flu outbreak.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a news release on Friday a
professional marksman was used and it was done in a humane way.
Owners of the farm in the southern interior community of Edgewood,
British Columbia have been fighting the order in the courts, arguing the
surviving ostriches show no signs of illness and should be spared.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent a letter to the
president of the CFIA urging him to reconsider destroying the birds.
Separately, Dr. Mehmet Oz, former TV personality and current
administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, offered
his Florida ranch to relocate the animals.
A holding pen that was filled with ostriches on Thursday appeared still
and empty of live birds on Friday, and no ostriches could be seen
anywhere else on the property.
Instead, the pen where the shootings took place was filled with long
blue tarpaulins covering objects on the ground that were also shrouded
with black sheeting.
The CFIA, which numbered the flock at between 300 to 330 birds, said the
shootings were completed under veterinary supervision.
The Supreme Court of Canada announced it had declined to hear the final
appeal, lifting any impediment to the cull.
The shooting began under darkness around 6 p.m. on Thursday, with
multiple shots in quick succession.
[to top of second column]
|
Karen Espersen, the co-owner of Universal Ostrich Farms, embraces
her daughter, Katie Pasitney, at the farm in Edgewood, B.C.,
following the announcement that the Supreme Court of Canada
dismissed the farm's appeal to stay an order to cull more than 300
of its ostriches on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Aaron Hemens /The
Canadian Press via AP)
 Farm supporter Janice Tyndall, 72,
said she listened to it intermittently for a couple hours before she
“couldn’t stomach it anymore” and left the scene.
Farm spokeswoman Katie Pasitney, whose mother Karen Espersen co-owns
the property, said in a Facebook post Friday that they were “broken
and can’t imagine the suffering last night. We can’t get out of
bed.”
The farm’s owners have said the cull was unnecessary because the
flock was healthy and had “herd immunity,” making them valuable for
scientific research, while requesting that the birds be tested for
infection.
But the CFIA refused, saying ostriches that appear healthy can still
be a potential source of the virus and allowing the flock to live
increased the risk the virus would dangerously mutate, particularly
if the birds were exposed to wildlife.
The farmers are eligible for up to $3,000 Canadian (US$2,136) per
ostrich in compensation, according to the CFIA.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
