Ostrich farmers hope for ‘miracle’ as CFIA moves to cull flock over avian flu

A last stand to try to save 400 ostriches from an ordered cull is unfolding along a dusty gravel road near the tiny community of Edgewood in southeastern British Columbia.

Yellow tape has been strung around the ostriches’ pen, where the co-owner of the farm and her daughter, Katie Pasitney, were staying put after police and Canadian Food Inspection Agency staff told them they must leave Monday.

Pasitney said she didn’t know what would happen over the next 24 hours as their lawyer filed paperwork in an attempt to have their case heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

“Watching my Mom today fall to her knees multiple times thinking she’s going to lose everything has been probably one of the hardest days of my life,” she said in an interview, standing just inside the ostriches’ enclosure.

“It’s hard to understand how, how did we get here?” she said.

Pasitney said the ostriches “should not be destroyed before we’ve had the legal opportunity to try to get to (the) Supreme Court.”

She later shared a livestreamed video on her Facebook page showing a CFIA official telling the farmers they would be allowed to stay in the pen overnight.

In the video, the man tells Pasitney he is leading enforcement of the cull order, and the farmers could leave voluntarily overnight or on Tuesday.

But he said the agency had “control of the property” and there would be “consequences” if the farmers did not take the opportunity to leave on their own.

Officials with the RCMP and CFIA had arrived with disposal trucks on Monday and served a warrant on the farm, which has been fighting the cull order for months after an outbreak of avian flu killed 69 birds starting in December.

In an interview, Pasitney said the ostriches were agitated by drones as officials moved in, but appeared more docile later that day, as they sensed something unfolding at the farm about 570 kilometres east of Vancouver.

Pasitney had shared a video on Facebook earlier Monday, showing a man in a CFIA uniform telling her the agency’s staff had the authority to be on the property.

“The warrant also talks about the authority and the use of force, if necessary,” the unnamed CFIA official said.

“We don’t want to use force. Nobody can obstruct us from doing our lawful duty and our inspection duties as we proceed. It’s going to take a couple days to set up.”

The fight to save the animals became the focus of multiple court battles, with the farm insisting the surviving ostriches are now healthy and deserve to be saved for scientific research, while the CFIA has said the birds were infected with a more lethal strain of the avian flu.

The farmers want the birds to be tested to determine their status, Pasitney said Monday.

In court documents, the CFIA said it didn’t know how likely it is that the ostriches at the farm remain infected or could become infected.

Earlier this month, a Federal Court of Appeal judge ruled the cull must be allowed to proceed, denying a request from the farm for another stay while it applies to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The judge said the farm had not established that its final proposed appeal “raises a serious or arguable issue.”

In one of the videos posted Monday, a sobbing Pasitney could be heard talking to the ostriches, saying, “These guys are here to kill you.”

Advocates at the farm had called on supporters to gather at the property over the weekend ahead of the expected cull.

Signs posted around the property bear messages saying “save ostrich science,” “stop the murder,” and “the world is watching.”

Emmy Pasieka lives in the area and has known the farmers and their birds for years.

“Some of them are very old, and some of them are young babies. They were really sweet. I don’t know if they had the bird flu or not,” she said in an interview, standing among about two dozen supporters gathered up the road from the farm.

“It was always a lot of fun to just park on the side of the road and you walk by the fence, and then you could find an egg that was almost like Easter … It’s always been a part of our community.”

Pasieka said what’s happening at the farm is an example of government overreach, and it should be stopped.

The ostriches have also gained international attention.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. sent a letter to the president of the CFIA asking him to reconsider destroying the birds, while former T.V. personality and current administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz, offered his Florida ranch to relocate the animals.

A statement from police on Monday said their presence was requested at Universal Ostrich Farms by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, “who was granted lawful authority to execute a search warrant.”

“Our primary role is to keep the peace and enforce the law while CFIA agents conduct their business,” the statement said.

The CFIA did not respond to a request for comment.

Pasitney said she was feeling anxiety, sadness and thoughts of loss.

“Miracles happen every day, and we’re praying for a miracle,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2025.

Brenna Owen and Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press