Despite birds’ resistance to avian flu, 400 are ordered to be killed by Feb. 1
Outrage, upset and even legal grounds are being raised Canada-wide over an order for a B.C. ostrich farm to kill its 400 birds.
An avian flu outbreak was declared at Universal Ostrich in Edgewood Dec. 31.
Believed to have come from a flock of ducks that landed at the farm, the flu killed approximately 10 per cent of the ostrich – which are used for science, not for meat
“The ostrich are doing amazing,” said Katie Pasitney, daughter of Karen Espersen, who owns Universal Ostrich with her partner Dave Bilinski. “You wouldn’t even believe that these are the ostrich that they want all destroyed by Feb. 1 and disposed of.”
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued the cull order, which is being challenged by the public, the farm and now a lawyer has been retained.
Pasitney said they are seeing support from as far as Abbotsford and Alberta, with dozens who visited the farm Friday to protest when CFIA was reportedly on site.
Along with the public and a lawyer, Universal Ostrich has Animal Justice on its side.
The group sent The Morning Star a statement calling the (CFIA)’s order “heavy-handed.”
“When discussing the outbreak, Dr. Scott Weese – a highly-respected professor at the Ontario Veterinary College – noted mass culls may no longer be the best approach given that H5N1 influenza is now endemic, especially in situations where risk of transmission is reduced,” the statement reads. “To combat the growing threat of bird flu, the root causes of disease in industrial farming must be addressed in order to protect both animal and human health.”
Animal Justice lawyer and executive director Camille Labchuk says the ostrich “shouldn’t be forced to pay for the failures of factory farming.”
She says a broken system has led to avian flu outbreaks.