BC Conservatives Criticize Ostrich Cull as CFIA Moves Forward With Preparations

Karen Espersen, right, the co-owner of Universal Ostrich Farms, speaks with supporters with her daughter, Katie Pasitney, at the farm in Edgewood, B.C., on Sept. 22, 2025, as the Canadian Food Agency prepares to cull 400 of the farm’s ostriches this week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad is calling on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to test all of the birds at a B.C. ostrich farm before carrying out a potentially unwarranted cull on healthy animals.

Rustad called the situation at Universal Ostrich Farm near Edgewood in southeastern B.C., “crazy” now that CFIA officials are constructing a wall of hay bales roughly three metres tall as they prepare for the cull of 399 ostriches.

“I truly thought common sense would prevail,” he said in a Sept. 23 social media post. “Simple solution: these are not chickens. Test all of the birds. If any of them are infected, take the necessary steps. Otherwise let them live.”

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad speaks to reporters following the throne speech at the legislature in Victoria, Feb. 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

CFIA officials first appeared at the farm on Sept. 22 with a police escort, to prepare for the cull where avian flu was detected last December. Sixty-nine of the animals died in the months following, but only two tested positive for H5N1, commonly referred to as avian flu.

The agency said the other birds would need to be culled after the test came back positive. The family operating the farm has challenged the agency in court and documented the developments on social media in a bid to keep the ostriches from being destroyed.

The Federal Court ruled in favour of CFIA in May, saying the agency’s decision to destroy the birds was both “reasonable” and “made in a procedurally fair manner.”

Conservative MLA Lorne Doerkson has penned a letter to the federal minister of agriculture to question the necessity of the cull, noting that the surviving ostriches are still healthy 250 days after the death of the other birds, and continue to show no signs of the avian flu.

“This raises an important scientific and ethical question: why would we not take the opportunity to study these birds and better understand what has enabled their survival?” the Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA said in his letter.

“It is possible that they carry antibodies or other natural defenses that could contribute valuable insight in the fight against avian disease,” he added. “I respectfully ask why the decision has been made to euthanize these animals rather than pursue research that could benefit both animal and human health.”

Cull Plan Continues

Several tractor trailers loaded high with hay bales arrived at the farm on Sept. 23, and a wall of bales around three metres tall began to be constructed in an ostrich pen as plans for the cull proceed. Several of the ostriches could be seen grazing inside the wall, where four people wearing head-to-toe white protective suits could be seen from the highway near the farm.

Officials have not confirmed why the wall is being built or when the cull will happen.

Construction of the hay wall began shortly after the arrest of two pivotal figures in the campaign.

Farm co-owner Dave Bilinski said fellow co-owner Karen Espersen and her daughter Katie Pasitney were taken into custody after attempting to feed the ostriches.

“We’re becoming a police state. We don’t have any rights,” Bilinski said Sept. 23, commenting on Espersen and Pasitney’s arrest by RCMP officers, adding that CFIA has taken “total control” of their property.

Pasitney posted a video on X on Sept. 24 filmed the previous day, before she and her mother were arrested. The video shows the pair standing among the ostriches, explaining their desire to feed the animals to keep them calm.

“All we’ve asked is for the right to feed these animals humanely so they don’t go into panic, and fear, and shock,” Pasitney said. “That we just maintain their regular routine while they get prepared to do their big mass murder. We’re being denied the right to feed our own animals today while they prepare.”

Pasitney later told the media they had been given permission to feed the animals but were then arrested at the back of the enclosure.

The pair has since been released from custody with orders not to go back into the pen with the ostriches or obstruct the CFIA in any way.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Kris Clark told reporters the two were arrested under the Health of Animals Act. He said they were transported to the RCMP command post for processing prior to their release.

The RCMP is on the farm at the request of CFIA to enforce the law, secure the property and ensure the safety of the public and the agency’s officers “as they conduct their business,” he said.

Opposing Views

Lawyers for the farmers told the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal that the birds are now healthy and scientifically valuable, while the CFIA has said they were infected with a more lethal strain of the virus that could be dangerous to humans.

The agency has said in court documents that its policies do not provide for additional testing.

A CFIA spokesperson told the Epoch Times in a previous email that the agency planned to proceed with the “humane depopulation and disposal of birds at the infected premises with veterinary oversight.”

“We have a duty to protect Canadians from the serious potential risks that Avian Influenza presents to our people and our economy,” the spokesperson said. “Allowing a domestic poultry flock known to be exposed to HPAI [highly pathogenic avian influenza] to remain alive allows a potential source of the virus to persist.”

The farm previously said the older birds developed herd immunity from a 2020 outbreak, noting that the birds’ antibodies were being used in research to develop vaccines and therapies.

The farm, together with a group of researchers from Canada, the United States, and Japan, has formed Struthio Bioscience. The ostriches are studied and used to create antibodies to fight viruses like H5N1 in animals and humans.

“They have the ability to do so much good,” Pasitney said in a previous interview. “They could really help humanity, and there’s nobody listening.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.