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CFIA Confirms B.C. Ostrich Flock Culled After Supreme Court Rejects Final Appeal

The agency says the H5N1‑exposed birds were destroyed to protect animal and human health under its stamping‑out policy.

Dave Bilinski, the co-owner of Universal Ostrich Farms, participates in a group prayer in Edgewood, British Columbia on Thursday.
A CFIA employee in a hazmat suit interacts with ostriches near a cull enclosure located by the Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., after the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear the farm’s appeal against an order to cull more than 300 of its ostriches on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens
CFIA employees in hazmat suits interact with ostriches near a cull enclosure located by the Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C., after the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear the farm’s appeal against an order to cull more than 300 of its ostriches on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens

Overview

  • Canada’s food‑safety agency said professional marksmen completed the extermination overnight at Universal Ostrich Farms and determined shooting was the most appropriate and humane method after expert consultation.
  • The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday declined to hear the farm’s case, lifting an interim stay and clearing the way for the cull after earlier defeats in Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal.
  • RCMP continue to enforce a perimeter at the quarantined site as the CFIA disposes of carcasses, with officers having restricted access during the operation and no arrests reported.
  • The CFIA cites its stamping‑out strategy to limit risks to human and animal health and trade, noting laboratory confirmation of H5N1 on the farm in December 2024.
  • Farm owners and supporters argued the surviving 300 to 330 birds were healthy and valuable for research, drawing protests and public backing from U.S. figures including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz.