B.C. Premier David Eby says he is frustrated that the federal Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is refusing to revisit a decision to have a herd of nearly 400 ostriches living in southeastern B.C. killed over fears of avian flu.
At the same time, a Conservative MP is seeking to have the decision overturned and the local regional district says it will not accept the birds’ carcasses at local landfills after they are killed.
The developments come as opposition to the order is gathering further steam, despite a court ruling this week finding it can go ahead.
Eby made his comments at an unrelated news conference in Victoria Wednesday, the day after a federal court judge found in favour of the agency being allowed to move forward with the cull which was first ordered in December 2024.
Eby said both he and the agriculture minister, as well as “British Columbians” are “a little bit frustrated by the actions of this federal agency.”
“We understand the importance of containing the bird flu and the important role that agency plays,” he said. “What’s hard to watch is a lack of discretion and ability to evaluate case-by-case scenarios.”
He said putting the specifics of the ostrich case aside, it’s a “consistent experience the province has had with federal agencies.”
The premier’s comments come as the number of supporters who’ve gathered at the farm, Universal Ostrich, is growing in anticipation of a standoff with the CFIA which said Wednesday that it will be moving forward with the cull following this week’s court ruling.
Videos and photos posted on social media show dozens of people, tents, caravans and vehicles on the property, with flags and banners draped on fences.
Conservative MP Scott Anderson visited the farm, which is in his riding, Wednesday and said the family that owns the birds is “quite devastated” and that the order has caused widespread fear in the animal husbandry industry over worries about the powers granted to the federal agency.
He said he was going to ask the agency to “hold off” on the cull because there’s a possibility of setting up a research facility on the property with the backing of academics.
The owners have said the birds, some of whom they say are close to three decades old, have developed herd immunity to avian flu since the outbreak was detected late last year, and that the live ostriches are valuable for research.
“We’ll see where that goes,” Anderson said.
CBC News has contacted two of the researchers the farm has said it is working with on ostrich research.
Universal Ostrich says its birds are being studied as part of a partnership with Japan’s Kyoto Prefectural University, which has previously made headlines for its work with ostrich eggs and detecting COVID-19.
However, the university and lead researcher mentioned by the farm, Yasuhiro Tsukamoto, have not responded to CBC News’ emails or phone calls and have not otherwise publicly weighed in on the case.
Supporters have also mentioned Stu Greenberg, a researcher in Massachusetts, who told CBC News via email that his work with Universal Ostrich was focused on dietary weight loss, not flu or other diseases.
Anderson said that the federal court judge “understandably” didn’t want to weigh in on the science behind the decision to kill the flock because he’s not a scientist.
But he said he would offer to act as an “interface” between scientists who have come out against the cull to explore alternatives.
“These people are constituents of mine and they deserve my help,” he said.
In his court ruling, Justice Russell Zinn said it is important the CFIA be given the authority to fulfil its mandate of protecting public health and the agricultural industry.
Zinn wrote it would be inappropriate for the courts to make a scientific ruling on whether the cull is warranted but instead said it is important to note that the federal government provides agencies such as the CFIA the power to set policy and “make judgments on complex, expertise-driven matters.”
Zinn said while it is clear the killing of the birds would be emotionally and economically devastating, that has to be balanced against the CFIA’s mandate to prevent the spread of diseases such as avian flu that could impact human health, as well as its mandate to honour Canada’s trade agreements with countries that require it to take proper steps to contain diseases.
He also said that the ruling was based on the knowledge the CFIA had when it gave the cull order in December, rather than any new information that may have emerged in the months since.
“Judicial review must never be conducted with the benefit of hindsight,” Zinn wrote. “Although the infection had later abated with many ostriches surviving, that could not have been foreseen at the time.”
It’s that last point — the fact many of the ostriches have survived — which is driving the fight for the owners of Universal Ostrich, and their supporters.
While a total of 69 ostriches are reported to have been killed by avian flu, the farm says the last death came in January and in the time since none of the remaining birds have been exhibiting symptoms of disease.
“Our animals are happy, they’re healthy, they’re laying eggs, they’re beautiful,” said Katie Pastiney, who has been acting as a spokesperson for the farm which is co-owned by her mother.
She was speaking at a Regional District of Central Kootenay meeting held Thursday which was attended by about 300 people online, many objecting to the cull.
The local government has confirmed it was contacted by the CFIA in January about accepting the carcasses of the ostriches at a landfill but that it hasn’t received any information since.
Officials and staff were asked why the district wasn’t trying to halt the cull or the disposal of the carcasses at a district landfill, while others suggested the avian flu virus does not exist and the need for the cull was fraudulent.
During the meeting, district vice-chairman Aiden McLaren-Caux said the cull was “horrifying,” but the district “would likely have little legal standing to refuse to accept the carcasses at the landfill.
“We can say what we want (to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency). They don’t have to listen to us,” he said.
Uli Wolf, the district’s general manager of environmental services, said the district had been told to expect 50 to 75 tonnes of waste as a result of the cull but this was not a “significant increase to the organic loading” of the landfill and therefore presented no additional health risk.
Speaking to CBC News after the meeting, McLaren-Caux said the board passed two motions on Thursday. One states that it will not accept the carcasses of the ostriches until the CFIA conducted more testing on the birds, while a second motion asks that the results of those tests be made public.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has defended its decision to proceed with the cull, saying on Wednesday that allowing a domestic flock “known to be exposed to highly pathogenic avian influenza to remain alive allows a potential source of the virus to persist.”
Fiona Brinkman, a professor at Simon Fraser University’s department of molecular biology and biochemistry, said the CFIA is in a difficult position in the face of a highly infectious disease which impacts not just birds but also mammals, including humans.
“It’s a really tough one,” she said in an interview with CBC Daybreak South host Chris Walker. “This is ultimately a tragedy of a pathogen that is now a threat to multiple industries and many animals.”
The greatest fear, she said, is that a new variant of avian flu could mutate that is even more dangerous to animals and humans.
But, she said, she had hoped the CFIA would conduct new tests on the ostriches now that so much time has passed since the initial cull order was given.
“I do hope they’re going to do a little bit more investigation,” she said.
Brinkman noted that for most domestic flocks of birds, the mortality rate once avian flu is detected is upwards of 90 per cent but that was not the case for ostriches, with the majority still alive. However, that also meant the virus could “linger” in the birds for a longer period of time, potentially spreading to wild flocks.
And, she said, since it’s an open-air farm there’s also room for new infections to be introduced to the ostriches.
“There’s a real problem with the birds not being able to be sheltered,” she said. “Poultry, for example, you can put them in a barn. That’s not appropriate for ostriches.”
She said aside from Universal Ostrich, there have been many other farmers that have had to see their entire flocks killed, as well as wild animals and sea life that have also died as avian flu spreads.
“My heart breaks,” she said. “Right now, there’s just no happy ending… we do not want to go through a pandemic again.”
