Supporters rally around B.C. ostrich farm after appeal court upholds cull order

By Canadian Press on August 22, 2025.

EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — Supporters of a British Columbia ostrich farm say they will converge on the property after it lost a court appeal to stave off a cull of its flock that was infected with avian flu.

Posts on a social media group administered by Universal Ostrich Farm’s spokeswoman show people saying they are booking flights or are driving to the property in Edgewood in the B.C. southern Interior.

Others suggest a convoy or appealing to officials in the United States to have the birds moved there.

However, a spokesman for Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel says she has not been in touch with any U.S. counterparts.

Farm spokeswoman Katie Pasitney, whose mother co-owns the farm, had called for supporters to go to the property and “sit with animals that need protection” from the cull ordered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The Federal Court of Appeal on Thursday rejected the farm’s bid to prevent the cull, which was originally ordered by the agency last December after two dead birds at the property tested positive for H5N1 avian flu.

A total of 69 birds died at the farm in December and January, and while the farmers say the flock is now healthy, the CFIA says the cull of about 400 survivors is necessary because exposed flocks create an opportunity for the virus to mutate.

It says there are “ongoing risks” to animal and human health as well as export market access for Canadian goods.

The agency says it won’t discuss operational plans, but in a May 30 update that remains on its website, it says it “continues planning for humane depopulation with veterinary oversight at the infected premises.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2025.

The Canadian Press