Overview

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency fined Universal Ostrich Farms $20,000 and issued two violation notices for failing to report illnesses and to follow quarantine orders after a December outbreak killed 69 ostriches.
• CFIA is preparing to humanely cull about 400 remaining birds over concerns that a novel avian flu reassortment, including a genotype linked to a human infection in Ohio, could pose broader animal and public health risks.
• Owners of the Edgewood flock have requested independent testing, saying the ostriches have shown no illness for more than four months and have developed herd immunity valuable for scientific study.
• Dozens of protesters have camped at the farm to block the cull, with support from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who have offered research and relocation options.
• No date for the depopulation has been made public, but CFIA confirms preparations are underway while farm owners await a response to their testing proposal.