The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced on November 7 that it had culled ostriches on a farm in British Columbia (BC) as part of its disease response policy.<\/p>\n
The cull took place at Universal Ostrich Farm in the Edgewood area of southeastern British Columbia, where the CFIA ordered the culling of all remaining ostriches after an avian influenza outbreak in December killed around 70 birds.<\/p>\n
However, the farm filed a lawsuit seeking to have the culling overturned, and the impact on the local community was widespread, with protesters gathering near the farm in opposition to the culling.<\/p>\n
The farm argued that culling was unnecessary because the ostriches were healthy, had herd immunity, and were valuable for research, and called for testing. However, the CFIA argued that even if they appear healthy, they could be a potential source of virus infection, and that there is a higher risk of the virus mutating into a dangerous form, especially if they encounter wild animals. The farm explained that culling is stipulated in guidelines set by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).<\/p>\n
The nearly year-long dispute finally came to an end on November 6th when the Supreme Court rejected the farm’s final appeal. The CFIA culled all the ostriches on the 7th. After consulting with experts, the culling was carried out by professional shooters under the supervision of a veterinarian, which was deemed the most appropriate and humane method. There were reportedly around 300 ostriches on the farm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"