B.C ostrich farm 'devastated' after federal judge rules cull of nearly 400 birds can proceed

A B.C. ostrich farm says it is devastated by a federal court ruling Tuesday that upholds an order to have the nearly 400-bird flock killed due to the detection of avian flu, and hopes to continue to fight the case in court.

The order to have the birds killed has attracted the attention of hundreds of supporters, who have made monetary donations to the farm's legal fund and held rallies in favour of saving the ostriches. The owners of Universal Ostrich, in Edgewood in southeastern B.C., argue the birds that have survived the outbreak are happy and healthy and could provide valuable insight into fighting the disease.

Though Federal Court Justice Russel Zinn wrote that he has "considerable sympathy" for the farmers, he also found that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ordered the cull after following proper procedure and its mandate to attempt to stop the spread of the deadly bird virus.

"Personal losses must be weighed against the broader public interest in protecting public health and maintaining trade stability," Zinn wrote in his ruling.

"Avian influenza is a virus capable of causing serious harm to both animals and humans, with significant implications for Canada's poultry businesses and international trade status. To combat threats like this virus, Parliament has authorized the CFIA to act decisively, making swift decisions with far-reaching consequences, often under conditions of scientific uncertainty."

In a post to its Facebook page, Save Our Ostriches, the farm says it is "absolutely devastated" by the ruling, which includes an order that it pay $15,000 to cover the CFIA's legal costs.

"We are heartbroken by this outcome and uncertain about the future of our farm," the post reads.

Katie Pasitney, whose mother is co-owner of the farm, says they plan "to fight this legally as far as we can go." 

She told The Canadian Press they are inviting supporters to come to the farm and show "kindness, peacefulness and love" in protest of the cull, adding the Canadian Food Inspection Agency had the "full authority ... to come in whenever they want." 

Pasitney said the agency had given no indication when culling might begin.

"They're not gonna make it a public topic because they don't want everybody to know. We have thousands of people behind us," she said.

CBC News has reached out to the CFIA.

More than 8.7 million birds have been culled in B.C. at hundreds of farms, most of them commercial, since the first outbreak of a highly contagious form of the avian flu in the spring of 2022. 

'Stamping out' policy at heart of dispute

The cull was first ordered on Dec. 31, 2024, after avian flu was detected in several birds at Universal Ostrich.

But the farm managed to stave off that cull through a court injunction that allowed both sides to make their case before a federal judge in April.

The lawyer for Universal Ostrich argued in that case that the CFIA failed in its mandate to fully investigate the case and didn't follow its own policy around possible exemptions to a cull order, claiming ostriches should not be treated the same as poultry.

The farm's legal counsel argued that the CFIA's "stamping out" policy, which results in the killing and disposal of all domestic birds on site where avian flu is present, to have been both ineffective at stopping the spread of avian flu, and unnecessary now that it has been detected throughout the province and because the ostriches themselves are flightless.

But the CFIA's lawyer said culls control the spread of diseases and limit the chance it can mutate into forms that are more easily passed on to mammals, including humans.

Zinn ruled Tuesday that the agency's decisions were both reasonable and procedurally fair, with the judge noting that "courts generally stay out of scientific debates."

"Courts must also respect the demonstrated scientific and technical expertise of administrative agencies," the judgment says. "When Parliament leaves technical or scientific assessments to specialized administrative bodies, it signals that those bodies, not the courts, are best positioned to make judgments on complex, expertise-driven matters."

Zinn also said the disposal notice and denial of the farm's exemption happened in December 2024 and January 2025, and the court can't consider evidence that wasn't available to it when those decisions were made.

He said the court "would be faulting decision-makers for lacking a crystal ball."

"This court cannot consider 'new' evidence, such as the current health status of the ostriches, recent test results or updated scientific developments," the ruling says in reference to claims that the ostriches are now free of disease.

Biosecurity concerns

He also found that Universal Ostrich had "many issues" with biosecurity, with the farm featuring open-air enclosures, in close proximity to wildlife, including a large pond routinely visited by wild ducks. Reports also showed that proper quarantine requirements had not always been followed at the farm when ostriches fell sick, with infected and dead birds in close proximity to healthy ones, and "unauthorized individuals walking inside the infected zone."

While Zinn said there is a "real and negative impact" on the farm due to the cull order, including economic loss and emotional distress, he also found that the stamping out policy is a reasonable one, given the goals of the CFIA to stop the spread and mutation of disease.

"I conclude that the CFIA has fulfilled the high level of duty of fairness it owed to the Applicant [Universal Ostrich]," the ruling reads.

The court ruling notes that the agency's "mandate is protective rather than punitive," and provides compensation to owners whose animals are destroyed — up to $3,000 per animal in the case of ostriches. 

Independent MLA for Peace River North Jordan Kealy, who supported the attempt to halt the cull, said he was "devastated" by the decision, adding that the farm was "completely different" from a typical poultry farm that could quickly restock.

"I honestly believe that there could have been an alternative to this scenario rather than culling and killing all the birds, because they're 30-year-old animals that are not just easily replaced," he said.

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said in a statement that while the government's thoughts were with the owners of Universal Ostrich Farms during a difficult time, "we respect the decision of the courts, as well as the jurisdiction of the CFIA."