US Edition
Federal Court of Appeal to hear arguments in B.C. ostrich farm avian flu case
EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, JUL 14 – The CFIA seeks to cull about 400 ostriches to prevent spread of a novel avian flu strain, following an outbreak that killed 69 birds last winter, the farm said.
- A ostrich farm located close to Edgewood in British Columbia is contesting a Federal Court of Appeal directive to euthanize nearly 400 birds following an avian influenza outbreak identified last December.
- The outbreak involved a unique virus reassortment not previously identified elsewhere in Canada, leading authorities to implement a stamping out strategy aimed at protecting both public and animal health.
- The farm owners argue most of their 468 birds survived and remain healthy, seeking independent testing and research exemption which the CFIA denied, while the courts upheld the cull as reasonable and procedurally fair.
- Beginning in April 2022, the CFIA has culled over 8.7 million birds within British Columbia and more than 14.5 million across Canada to control the spread of avian influenza, which the agency identifies as a significant threat to both trade and public health.
- The legal battle highlights tensions between disease control measures and animal welfare claims, with supporters and notable figures urging further research before destroying the birds.
65 Articles
65 Articles
Federal Court of Appeal Hears BC Ostrich Farm’s Case Against Cull Order
The Federal Court of Appeal has heard arguments in a case that challenges a cull order for hundreds of ostriches at a B.C. farm over avian flu concerns. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ordered about 400 birds at Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood, B.C., to be culled after 69 ostriches died in an avian flu outbreak on the farm in December 2024 and January 2025. The farmers oppose the cull, saying their birds have immunity from the viru…
Everyone Keeps Clucking about Our Egg Prices, Dairy Tariffs, and Supply Management
More than 168 million birds have been lost or culled since the latest strain of avian flu hit US farms in 2022. It’s a mind-boggling figure that helped send egg prices in American supermarkets to historic highs this year—so high that some people were instead decorating potatoes and marshmallows over Easter. In Canada, farmers have lost 14.4 million birds to the aggressive virus, but prices have remained more stable. At the retail level, you can …
Why RFK Jr. wants Canada to pardon 400 ostriches
OTTAWA — The fate of nearly 400 Canadian ostriches, which Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is trying to save, now rests with federal justices in Ottawa. As the controversial case makes its way through court, members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, right-wing influencers and a Republican megadonor are urging the Liberal government to spare the ostriches that were exposed to bird flu. “The Secretary has urged Canada not to kill the ostriches…
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