opinion
The ostrich saga was for the birds
André Picard ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/andre-picard/)Health[/url] Columnist
Published November 10, 2025Updated 2 hours ago
Give the Canadian Food Inspection Agency credit: The long-delayed ostrich cull was remarkably efficient.
The 300 or so big birds were corralled into a tight space, where marksmen methodically picked them off one at a time, an approach the CFIA called the “most appropriate and humane option.” considered and rejected were individual lethal injections, or gathering them all in a confined space and administering lethal gas, as is normally done when poultry are culled due to bird flu.)
The “depopulation” operation, which began shortly after the Supreme Court of Canada rejected ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-supreme-court-declines-appeal-bc-ostrich-cull/[/url]) an appeal of the cull order by the farm’s owners, was hidden from public view, appropriately, with bales of hay piled high. The only clue the cull was underway was the sound of gunfire.
It was an anticlimactic end to almost a year of feathery histrionics, off-the-wall protests and predictably unsuccessful legal battles.
Despite claims of government overreach, and objections by “freedom” activists, the cull was not only appropriate, but necessary.
Ostriches at B.C. farm have been culled, food-safety agency says ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-bc-farm-ostriches-cull/[/url])
There is no question that the ostriches on the farm were infected with H5N1 avian influenza. That was confirmed in December, 2024, after a tip-off to agricultural inspectors. (That the farm owners did not declare an outbreak, as required by law, was the first sign of trouble.)
At least 69 of the birds died from the flu, and Canada has a strict “stamping-out” policy. That means if there is even a single case of H5N1 detected on a farm, all the birds on that farm must die.
Harsh, but essential, for both economic and public health reasons.
Since avian influenza was first detected on a Canadian poultry farm in 2022, more than 17.7 million birds have been culled as a precautionary measure; 11.4 million of those chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, quail and, yes, ostriches, have been slaughtered in B.C. alone.
Failure to do so would jeopardize Canada’s $6.8-billion-a-year poultry industry. Had we allowed exceptions, such as 300 or so ostriches, Canada would have been in violation of international trade agreements, with almost $1-billion in exports at risk.
Nevertheless, the owners of Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. in Edgewood, B.C., resisted the CFIA cull order, both by taking legal action and inviting protests.
Of course, it is their right to do so.
But the result was a terrible waste of time and money, and way too much attention afforded to fringe activists and preposterous “scientific” arguments.
It was clear from the outset that the legal manoeuvring would fail. CFIA was clearly within its mandate to order the cull. It should have happened last December, end of story.
The ostrich farm was no different than any of the other 540 poultry farms across Canada that were subjected to cull orders since 2022. All of them suffered terrible losses and were duly compensated.
But the ostrich farmers pleaded exceptionalism.
They claimed their birds, with names like Annabelle, had distinct personalities. They insisted, without evidence, that the wobble of ostriches had developed “herd immunity ” They said the birds were no longer being raised for meat and leather, but for coronavirus-related scientific research, again without any proof that legitimate scientific experiments were being conducted.
Numerous gunshots rang out late Thursday at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., where the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it is moving ahead with the cull of hundreds of the birds.
The reality is that the surviving ostriches, while they may have showed no outward signs of illness, could be shedding the virus and, worse yet, acting as reservoirs for further spread of bird flu. This is especially worrisome because they were housed outdoors, and could be in contact with wild birds.
Most disturbing of all about the whole sordid saga, however, was the behaviour of some protesters.
They flagrantly violated quarantine orders. They harassed and threatened government officials, researchers, neighbours and journalists. One protester was arrested by the RCMP after allegedly assaulting a neighbour and trying to burn down their house.
That threat-filled environment meant that police had to be deployed, and in large numbers, especially around the time of the cull. What a tremendous waste of money.
The spectacle outside Universal Ostrich Farms was a pathetic stepchild of the so-called “freedom convoy,” complete with virtually non-stop livestreaming on over-the-top Facebook accounts and constant coverage by radical-right Rebel News.
What we saw, once again, were self-centred claims that public-health measures that protect the larger population somehow oppress individuals who essentially think that laws they don’t like don’t apply to them.
Mercifully, the ostrich debacle is over. But sadly, we can expect to see more of this bird-brained grifting – and we must be vigilant in pushing back.
?
The ostrich saga was for the birds
André Picard ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/authors/andre-picard/)Health[/url] Columnist
Published November 10, 2025Updated 2 hours ago
Give the Canadian Food Inspection Agency credit: The long-delayed ostrich cull was remarkably efficient.
The 300 or so big birds were corralled into a tight space, where marksmen methodically picked them off one at a time, an approach the CFIA called the “most appropriate and humane option.” considered and rejected were individual lethal injections, or gathering them all in a confined space and administering lethal gas, as is normally done when poultry are culled due to bird flu.)
The “depopulation” operation, which began shortly after the Supreme Court of Canada rejected ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-supreme-court-declines-appeal-bc-ostrich-cull/[/url]) an appeal of the cull order by the farm’s owners, was hidden from public view, appropriately, with bales of hay piled high. The only clue the cull was underway was the sound of gunfire.
It was an anticlimactic end to almost a year of feathery histrionics, off-the-wall protests and predictably unsuccessful legal battles.
Despite claims of government overreach, and objections by “freedom” activists, the cull was not only appropriate, but necessary.
Ostriches at B.C. farm have been culled, food-safety agency says ([url]https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-bc-farm-ostriches-cull/[/url])
There is no question that the ostriches on the farm were infected with H5N1 avian influenza. That was confirmed in December, 2024, after a tip-off to agricultural inspectors. (That the farm owners did not declare an outbreak, as required by law, was the first sign of trouble.)
At least 69 of the birds died from the flu, and Canada has a strict “stamping-out” policy. That means if there is even a single case of H5N1 detected on a farm, all the birds on that farm must die.
Harsh, but essential, for both economic and public health reasons.
Since avian influenza was first detected on a Canadian poultry farm in 2022, more than 17.7 million birds have been culled as a precautionary measure; 11.4 million of those chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, quail and, yes, ostriches, have been slaughtered in B.C. alone.
Failure to do so would jeopardize Canada’s $6.8-billion-a-year poultry industry. Had we allowed exceptions, such as 300 or so ostriches, Canada would have been in violation of international trade agreements, with almost $1-billion in exports at risk.
Nevertheless, the owners of Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. in Edgewood, B.C., resisted the CFIA cull order, both by taking legal action and inviting protests.
Of course, it is their right to do so.
But the result was a terrible waste of time and money, and way too much attention afforded to fringe activists and preposterous “scientific” arguments.
It was clear from the outset that the legal manoeuvring would fail. CFIA was clearly within its mandate to order the cull. It should have happened last December, end of story.
The ostrich farm was no different than any of the other 540 poultry farms across Canada that were subjected to cull orders since 2022. All of them suffered terrible losses and were duly compensated.
But the ostrich farmers pleaded exceptionalism.
They claimed their birds, with names like Annabelle, had distinct personalities. They insisted, without evidence, that the wobble of ostriches had developed “herd immunity ” They said the birds were no longer being raised for meat and leather, but for coronavirus-related scientific research, again without any proof that legitimate scientific experiments were being conducted.
Numerous gunshots rang out late Thursday at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., where the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it is moving ahead with the cull of hundreds of the birds.
The reality is that the surviving ostriches, while they may have showed no outward signs of illness, could be shedding the virus and, worse yet, acting as reservoirs for further spread of bird flu. This is especially worrisome because they were housed outdoors, and could be in contact with wild birds.
Most disturbing of all about the whole sordid saga, however, was the behaviour of some protesters.
They flagrantly violated quarantine orders. They harassed and threatened government officials, researchers, neighbours and journalists. One protester was arrested by the RCMP after allegedly assaulting a neighbour and trying to burn down their house.
That threat-filled environment meant that police had to be deployed, and in large numbers, especially around the time of the cull. What a tremendous waste of money.
The spectacle outside Universal Ostrich Farms was a pathetic stepchild of the so-called “freedom convoy,” complete with virtually non-stop livestreaming on over-the-top Facebook accounts and constant coverage by radical-right Rebel News.
What we saw, once again, were self-centred claims that public-health measures that protect the larger population somehow oppress individuals who essentially think that laws they don’t like don’t apply to them.
Mercifully, the ostrich debacle is over. But sadly, we can expect to see more of this bird-brained grifting – and we must be vigilant in pushing back.
?
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