Support for the owners of an ostrich farm in Edgewood, B.C., is growing after Tuesday’s decision by a federal court judge to uphold the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) cull order that will see nearly 400 of the birds destroyed.
A group of 20 people took to the streets in Vernon to protest against the cull of the birds at the Universal Ostrich farm, which is situated some 130 km southeast of the North Okanagan city.
“It’s absolutely absurd to murder them and that’s what it is, it’s murder,” said rally organizer Gena Barzan.
An outbreak of avian flu on the farm late last year led to the deaths of 69 birds.
The outbreak is believed to have come from a flock of ducks that migrated to the farm.
However, the farm’s owners have said none of the 399 remaining birds have shown any sign of illness in months, adding they have achieved herd immunity.
Tuesday’s judicial review outcome has angered many people.
Some of them have expressed frustration on social media while others are showing up at the farm to camp out in an effort to stop federal authorities from coming in and killing the birds.
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“We will stand our ground. We will be here until the end,” Colin Bigbear said in a public Facebook post showing him next to some of the ostriches.
Katie Paistney, the daughter of the farm owners and spokesperson, said dozens of people have already descended on the property.
“We’re over 100 people and we continuously have people coming in,” Paistney told Global News. “We have people coming in from all across Canada and we are feeling the global support today.”
The ostriches are part of an international antibody research program to fight the avian flu pandemic, which has been wiping out entire chicken farms.
Paistney said destroying the rare and valuable birds makes no sense.
The CFIA, however, has argued that its “stamping out” policy is necessary to control spread of diseases.
Global News reached out to the CFIA Thursday but the agency would not reveal when the cull will take place.
Late Thursday afternoon, Paistney provided an update saying that the Regional District of Central Kootenay passed a motion not to accept the bird carcasses until further testing is done.
It’s the type of testing that the farm owners and their supporters have been calling on ahead of destroying the entire flock of birds.
“We can’t allow this. We have to stand up,” Barzan said. “People need to stand up, open their eyes and stop this.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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