Despite the growing flock of support to keep 400 ostrich alive, their fate has been sealed by the Federal Court of Canada.
Universal Ostrich called for a judicial review of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) order to cull the birds at the Edgewood farm after they contracted avian influenza Dec. 31, 2024.
Justice Russel W. Zinn heard from lawyers representing both parties over two days in April 2025 and made a decision on May 13.
"I dismiss both applications for judicial review," Zinn's reasoning reads. "The agency鈥檚 decisions were reasonable based on the record before the decision-maker and were made in a procedurally fair manner."
Zinn did recognize the hardship the cull will be on the farm of the destruction of a long-established ostrich population.
"Nonetheless, such personal losses must be weighed against the broader public interest in protecting public health and maintaining trade stability."
The news has devastated all those at the farm and those supporting them.
"We are heartbroken by this outcome and uncertain about the future of our farm," Universal Ostrich stated in a social media post.
Located east of Vernon near Arrow Lake, the 65-acre farm has been raising the birds since the mid 1990s. While initially used for the meat and breeding, the ostrich are now used for science, specifically to mass produce ostrich antibodies against the H5N1 avian influenza strain.
When the outbreak was declared at the end of last year, part owner Karen Espersen says up to four birds a day were dying. But shortly after, she said the deaths stopped and the ostrich developed herd immunity to the virus.
Unlike smaller birds like chickens, where the avian flu can wipe out entire flocks overnight, the ostrich became resilient to the disease.
So the farm fought the cull order, hiring a lawyer and gaining support worldwide in its fight to save the birds, in the name of science.
CFIA is tasked with making such decisions federally and has a stamping out policy when an outbreak is declared.
The current nationwide HPAI outbreak began in November 2021, Zinn's decision reads, and has affected every province except Prince Edward Island. Since then, it has been confirmed on 527 domestic premises across the country, with British Columbia reporting the highest number of cases and some premises experiencing repeated infections.
"Canada also recorded its first domestically acquired human case in late 2024, when a British Columbia teenager became critically ill and required intensive care. The individual has since made a full recovery," Zinn reports.
"It can persist outside of hosts in feces, grass and soil. It can remain viable for months or even years in fresh water at low temperatures, creating long-lasting sources of infection or re-infection."
With the protective cull order, the farm could be compensated up to a maximum of $3,000 per ostrich killed.
In addition to the loss of the ostriches, Universal Ostrich has been ordered to pay $15,000 in CFIA鈥檚 legal costs.
