Minister says CFIA following due process in B.C. ostrich cull case
A sign calling for the protection of ostriches at the Universal Ostrich Farms is displayed 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 about 400 ostriches. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Hemens
The federal agriculture minister says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is following 'due process' as it prepares for a cull of about 400 ostriches at a farm in British Columbia.
Asked about U.S. interventions in the case, Heath MacDonald says he doesn't think it's appropriate for a major decision in Canada to be made by following social media.
MacDonald says he feels sorry for the farmers but there's an obligation to protect Canada's industries.
He says he hasn't been in contact with his U.S. counterpart on the issue, which has attracted the attention of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is the administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Kennedy wrote to the head of the CFIA last week seeking to avert the cull, while Oz has offered to rehouse the birds at his Florida ranch.
The owners of the farm in Edgewood, B.C., this week filed a Federal Court appeal seeking a 'stay of the execution and enforcement' of the culling order, which was first issued last year during an outbreak of avian flu that went on to kill 69 of the ostriches.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025.
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