Canada Moves Ahead With Ostrich Cull After Court Ruling

A Canadian farm's fight to save its hundreds of ostriches has reached the end of the road. After Canada's Supreme Court declined to take up an appeal Thursday, the country's food inspection agency said it plans to begin a "complete depopulation and disposal" at the British Columbia farm, the Guardian reports. Universal Ostrich Farms was first ordered to kill more than 300 ostriches in May after a bird flu outbreak killed 69 of the farm's ostriches. Earlier this week, officials took control of the property. The CBC reports that emotions were running high at the farm on Thursday, where protesters gathered outside as workers in hazmat suits were seen trying to round up the ostriches.

The ostriches have some powerful friends, but they're south of the border. In May, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to spare the birds. Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, later offered to keep the ostriches at his Florida ranch, the AP reports. Billionaire John Catsimatidis has also urged Canada to reconsider. Pierre Poilievre, leader of the opposition Conservatives, said last month that the issue had been "mismanaged" but wouldn't say whether he supports the protesters.

Federal officials maintain that the cull is in line with World Health Organization guidance to limit the spread of avian flu, though animal advocates and the farm's owners argue for more testing, claiming most of the ostriches appear healthy and may have developed herd immunity. In a statement, the CFIA said its "stamping out" policy "aims to protect both public and animal health, as well as minimize impacts on the $6.8 billion domestic poultry industry, and the Canadian economy," the CBC reports.

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Farm spokesperson Katie Pasitney, daughter of a co-owner, accused the CFIA of "murdering" healthy birds. "They are prehistoric animals that have survived millions of years, but they won't survive the Canadian Food Inspection Agency," she said Thursday. The Canadian Press reports that as the birds were rounded up Thursday, Pasitney yelled, "CFIA you can stop! Run, pretty birds!" Supporters parked on a nearby highway set off fireworks and played rock music in an apparent attempt to get the birds to run away. The Guardian describes the protests as inspired by "post-pandemic skepticism of government," with many commenters on social media expressing skepticism about vaccines.