Dr. Oz offers to relocate B.C. ostriches facing cull, but owners decline help
Supporters of Universal Ostrich Farms stand near ostriches at the farm's property in Edgewood, B.C., on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Hundreds of supporters flocked to the farm over the Victoria Day long weekend to protest the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's order to cull 400 ostriches. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens
The operators of an ostrich farm in southeastern British Columbia say United States health official and former television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz has offered to save the birds from an impending cull by relocating them to his ranch in Florida.
But Katie Pasitney, whose parents own the farm, says they aren't interested in moving the flock, although they're grateful for the support.
Oz is the administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and is the second health official in the administration of President Donald Trump to try to prevent the cull, after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr intervened last week.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the cull last year after an avian flu outbreak at the farm, and a judge tossed out a challenge this month that sought to stop the order.
Pasitney says she spoke with Oz on Monday, confirming a report in the New York Post quoting him as saying he offered to relocate the nearly 400 ostriches to his ranch.
The owners of Universal Ostrich farms in Edgewood, B.C., filed a Federal Court appeal on Monday seeking to halt the cull order.
Kennedy wrote a public letter to the president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last week, saying the birds should be spared as there was 'significant value' in studying their immune response to avian flu.
But the agency said Monday in response to a question about Kennedy's letter that the 'humane depopulation' of the flock would proceed.
It says dates and plans will not be shared publicly, citing privacy protections for producers.
Protesters have gathered at the farm in an attempt to prevent the cull from taking place.
This report by Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press, was first published May 27, 2025.
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