BC MP Calls for Testing of Ostriches Before Cull Order Is Enforced

An ostrich stands in the enclosure at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., Aug. 27, 2025. Paul Rowan Brian/The Epoch Times

The Conservative MP who represents the riding where a B.C. ostrich farm faces a cull order after avian flu was detected late last year says Canada’s ministers of agriculture and health should intervene.

Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee MP Scott Anderson said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) should allow updated testing of the surviving flock in hopes of sparing the birds.

Anderson said he visited Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., on Sept. 27, where the CFIA has taken charge of the ostrich flock, but did not receive the clarification he sought on animal testing and public health risks. The farm’s 399 ostriches are subject to a CFIA cull order, but the order is currently paused by a Supreme Court stay that was issued on Sept. 24.

“It is increasingly clear to me and everyone else that the Ministers of Agriculture and Health need to intervene and either declare these birds research subjects or explain to Canadians why they are allowing the slaughter without testing,” Anderson wrote in a Sept. 29 Facebook post.

“My office is receiving upwards of 1,000 communications a day on every medium, and other MPs tell me some of theirs are from as far away as Europe and Australia.”

Sixty-nine of the farm’s ostriches became ill and died between Dec. 15, 2024, and Jan. 15, 2025. The cull order was handed down by the CFIA at the end of December, after PCR tests detected avian influenza in two of the deceased ostriches. The farm has repeatedly challenged the order in court unsuccessfully since then, arguing the ostriches have developed immunity, remain healthy, and are important for scientific study.

Farm spokesperson Katie Pasitney said the ostriches had been symptom-free for 261 days, in a Sept. 29 video posted on Facebook. She also said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration offered to test the ostriches at no cost, but the CFIA declined, and had also rejected the farm’s earlier request for independent testing.

Under the Health of Animals Act, individuals who disobey CFIA orders may face significant penalties. Summary convictions can result in fines up to $50,000 and imprisonment for as long as six months. Cases prosecuted by indictment can lead to fines reaching $250,000 and imprisonment for up to two years.

CFIA Says Cull Delay Dangerous

The CFIA must respond to the Supreme Court’s stay by Oct. 3, after which the farm will have two days to reply before the Supreme Court rules on whether to hear the case. The Sept. 24 decision halts the CFIA from carrying out its “stamping-out policy” until the Supreme Court rules on the farm’s request to appeal, and, if that request is approved, until the case is fully settled.

The CFIA wrote there is an ostrich with “compromised health” at the farm in a Sept. 26 statement, saying it has counted between 300 to 330 ostriches, rather than the 399 listed by the farm.

“There are potential animal and human health risks associated with the ongoing delay in implementing disease-response measures at Universal Ostrich Farms (UOF) including destruction of the infected and exposed ostriches and decontamination of the infected and exposed environment,” the CFIA wrote.

The agency added that after PCR testing showed the presence of H5N1 in the ostrich herd last December, the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg isolated the virus and conducted full genome sequencing. The CFIA says further testing showed the outbreak involves a new reassortment of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) not previously detected in Canada.

They said this form of HPAI contains the D1.3 genotype, which has been linked to a human infection in an Ohio poultry worker. The agency says this reassortment makes the virus more dangerous and necessitates the implementation of the “stamping out” policy.

“Canada’s animal health status is an essential element of agricultural exports and the national economy. Our stamping out policy for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) plays a critical role in animal disease control and preparedness,“ the agency wrote. ”Under the stamping out policy, all of the birds on infected and exposed premises are depopulated. There is no post detection testing of exposed birds to exclude individual birds from depopulation.”

MP Calls for Further Testing

Anderson argues the ministers of agriculture and health should explain why birds who aren’t showing any symptoms can’t simply be tested instead of killed.

He said that despite repeated requests, he and his staff were denied any briefing by CFIA officials, leaving him still unconvinced of whether the ostriches pose a risk to human health, unclear as to why they cannot be tested, and unsure of whether culling is necessary.

Anderson said he believes the government’s handling of the situation has created confusion and distrust among the public.

“Is there a rational answer as to why the CFIA won’t test the ostriches? They claim all sorts of things from two high-cycle PCR tests on dead birds back in January, but refuse to test a herd of apparently healthy birds eight months later before slaughtering them?” Anderson asked.

The farm’s case has drawn national and global attention, with backing from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith as well as from prominent U.S. figures such as Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, billionaire John Catsimatidis, and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., all of whom have called on Canada to halt the cull order.