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CFIA Levies $20,000 Penalty as B.C. Ostrich Farm Readies 400-Bird Cull

The farm has appealed a Federal Court decision upholding the cull order after officials detected a novel H5N1 reassortment in its flock.

Supporters of Universal Ostrich Farms stand near ostriches at the farm’s property in Edgewood, B.C., on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Hundreds of supporters flocked to the farm over the Victoria Day long weekend to protest the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s order to cull 400 ostriches. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens
Ostriches that live at the Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, a remote community in B.C., are now the subject of international attention.
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Katie Pasitney watches the ostriches on her mother's farm, Universal Ostrich, on May 21, 2025.

Overview

  • The CFIA issued two violation notices totaling $20,000 to Universal Ostrich Farm for failing to report initial illnesses, deaths and quarantine breaches last winter.
  • Laboratory analysis identified a novel H5N1 reassortment in the ostriches, including a D1.3 genotype previously linked to a human case in Ohio.
  • Federal authorities plan to proceed with the humane depopulation of about 400 surviving ostriches under veterinary oversight to contain the outbreak.
  • Universal Ostrich Farm has lodged an appeal against the May 13 Federal Court ruling, and roughly 130 protesters remain at the Edgewood site in solidarity.
  • U.S. health officials Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz have offered to relocate and study the birds in efforts to preserve the flock.