Canada wants to kill 400 ostriches. Sadly, it's the right thing to do

Globe and Mail

a day ago

On Dec. 31 of last year, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency declared an H5N1 outbreak at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C.
CFIA had been tipped that some ostriches at the farm had died, so sent investigators out to see what was going on. Indeed, 69 of the bird met their death from the avian flu, which set in motion decisions that continue to reverberate.
When it comes to battling this disease, Canada follows guidelines set out by the World Organization for Animal Health. That policy insists that if birds or animals have been infected with the virus and have been part of a larger flock or group, then the most effective way of stamping out the disease and preventing it from spreading elsewhere, including to humans, is to eliminate them all.
And in January of this year, that is what CFIA ordered take place – meaning 400 ostriches on the Edgewood farm were effectively placed on death row. They were scheduled to be destroyed by Feb. 1.
Earlier this month, a Federal Court judge denied two judicial reviews brought by the farm against the CFIA directive. The farm owners have appealed again. They have received support in their battle from animal-rights activists, Indigenous leaders and some politicians. Some truly big names have also jumped to their defence.
B.C. ostrich cull to go ahead despite RFK Jr. intervention
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, has become involved. In a call with CFIA president Paul MacKinnon this month, Mr. Kennedy urged Canada to halt the cull in the name of science. He argues there is much to learn from the immune response of the ostriches that survived the flu outbreak. If that wasn't enough, former Oprah Winfrey health expert and now administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has jumped into the fray, offering to relocate the birds to his ranch in Florida.
The Universal owners have said they want to keep the birds in Canada.
So, does CFIA have its head in the sand or what?
From a purely scientific standpoint, I would say no. Avian flu is a potentially lethal virus. In November of last year, the B.C. Ministry of Health reported its first case of bird flu in a human – a teenager who fell dangerously ill but eventually recovered. But the risk it poses to the human population is real and deadly serious. Then there is the threat it poses to Canadian farmers, including the $6.8-billion domestic poultry industry.
The federal government reports that 14.5 million birds on more than 500 farms have been affected by the H5N1 virus since 2022, including more than 8.7 million in B.C. This includes birds that have died from the virus or have been 'depopulated' – in other words, euthanized - by CFIA.
The virus has also spread to cattle and other animals in North America, although in far fewer numbers.
While I'm admittedly not an expert on pathogenic avian-influenza viruses, it seems to me that allowing a domestic poultry flock known to have been exposed to the H5N1 virus to subsist and therefore potentially allow the disease to persist, mutate and spread, would be a mistake.
With 8.7 million birds dead, B.C. farmers assess avian flu toll and worry about the future
The U.S. hasn't always been consistent in using this 'stamp out' approach. It paid the price late last year when avian flu infected poultry farms, resulting in the deaths of millions of birds and causing the price of eggs to spike. Canada did not see the same escalation in egg costs because we protected our flocks through culling.
Of course, Canada's policy is not a cure-all. If it was, it would have stopped the spread of the disease already. But it's arguably the best method of preventing the virus from causing greater harm. It also offers the best hope of a farm returning to disease-free status and protecting Canada's export markets in the process.
Mr. Kennedy's brainstorm is to just let the disease run its course and let the feathers fall where they may.
I don't want to underestimate the psychological, emotional and financial toll this situation has taken on the owners of Universal Ostrich Farms. The idea of watching 400 of their ostriches killed through yet-to-determined means would be gut-wrenching, and the $3,000 per bird the government offers in compensation would hardly seem sufficient.
If Dr. Oz is willing to take the birds to his ranch, and they can be shipped safely, that would seem to be a better option than putting the birds to death.
But otherwise, granting a stay of execution based purely on emotional grounds would set a terrible precedent, pose a danger to the country and would likely lead to worse decisions on this front down the road.