John Catsimatidis, a U.S. business magnate, said in a July 30 interview with The Epoch Times that he’s willing to contribute financially to Universal Ostrich Farms (UOF), which has launched legal action to stop the cull order, and to rally others to do the same if asked.
“Everybody feels bad for [the farm owners], and we want to do whatever we can do,” Catsimatidis said. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is “treating [the ostriches] like poultry, and they’re not poultry. They’re iconic, ancient animals,” he added.
UOF, located in Edgewood, B.C., was ordered by the CFIA to cull its flock of ostriches after the CFIA said the farm had 69 ostrich deaths from December 2024 to the end of January 2025, with the CFIA linking the deaths to “flu-like illness” and PCR tests showing two birds to have died from H5N1. The farm has said it opposes the cull order as the remainder of its herd is now immune to H5N1 and is being used for scientific research.Spokesperson Katie Pasitney, the daughter of UOF co-owner Karen Espersen, said the farm is currently about $500,000 in debt, and while she “was crying” over Catsimatidis’s generosity in being open to contributing financially, she doesn’t want people to get the impression the farm is financially secure and no longer needs donations.
“We’re in debt where our donations have stopped, and then that hinders our donations, actually, because then people think we’re backed by a billionaire,” Pasitney said in a July 3o interview with The Epoch Times, adding, “We’re not sitting here with a million dollars in our account.”
UOF drew international attention following the cull order last year, as protesters gathered and U.S. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote a letter to the CFIA asking for the cull order to be scrapped. U.S. administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz has also previously said he could relocate the birds to his ranch in Florida.
In the letter, Catsimatidis, who works in an array of industries including real estate, energy finance, and supermarkets, noted that his company Red Apple Group “is one of the largest importers of Canadian oil into the United States.”
Although he has received no official response from Carney or his aides, Catsimatidis said a reporter—whom he prefers not to name—told him that when the letter was mentioned in passing during an interview with Carney, “the prime minister acknowledged the letter, but he gave a smirk as far as an answer.”
Although the two have never met in person, Pasitney said she and Catsimatidis speak frequently over the phone and have bonded over a shared love of animals and desire to protect her herd. Catsimatidis said the two met when she appeared on a radio show he hosts earlier this year in February.
While Catsimatidis has not yet provided funding, he said he’s definitely willing to contribute financially if asked and to ask around and find colleagues and friends who would also contribute.
