More than 300 Ostriches shot dead by firing squad on Canadian farm after bird flu allegations

New York Post ^ | 11/07/2025 | Ariel Zilber

[SeekAndFind]

More than 300 ostriches were shot dead by a firing squad in Canada late Thursday — ending a months-long standoff that drew in US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and New York billionaire John Catsimatidis, who had begged officials to spare the birds.

The mass killing unfolded at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, British Columbia, hours after the Supreme Court of Canada refused to block a federal order to cull the flock following an avian flu outbreak, CBC reported.

Canada apparently snubbed its neighbor to the south by refusing to spare the 330 giant birds to be used for research purposes.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the culling to curb the spread of the avian flu after an outbreak at the farm last winter killed 69 ostriches.

But a spokeswoman for the farm has insisted that the rest of the flock remained healthy.

Kennedy and John Catsimatidis had spent weeks urging Ottawa to halt the slaughter, arguing the birds were healthy and could aid in research on natural immunity to the virus.

“Ostriches can live up to 50 years, providing the opportunity for future insights into immune longevity associated with the H5N1 virus,” Kennedy, who owns a pet emu, wrote in a May 23 letter to the CFIA co-signed by National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya and Food and Drug Administration boss Martin Makary.

“The indiscriminate destruction of entire flocks … can have significant consequences, including the loss of valuable genetic stock that may help explain risk factors for H5N1 mortality,” the letter said.

“This may be important for future agricultural resilience.”

Witnesses said CFIA trucks and SUVs rolled into the Edgewood property around 6 p.m. local time Thursday.

Men in protective suits carried equipment into the pens as supporters outside prayed and shouted for the birds.

[SeekAndFind]

Ostriches are corralled near the Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, B.C.


The mass killing unfolded at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood, British Columbia, hours after the Supreme Court of Canada refused to block a federal order to cull the flock following an avian flu outbreak


People were visibly upset following the announcement that 300 ostriches were killed. Farm supporter Janice Tyndall, 72, said she listened to the gunfire “intermittently for a couple hours” before she “couldn’t stomach it anymore” and left the scene.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Yes this was posted yesterday.

In keeping with Canada’s euthanasia fixation. It’s not just limited to humans. Horrific.

[TigersEye]

After a year of fighting it in the courts it is obvious these birds posed no danger to anyone or anything.

The Canadian government is another matter.

[MikelTackNailer]

Note to self:

Cancel plan to market freaky giant drumsticks for Thanksgiving.

[SeekAndFind]

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) detected H5N1 avian influenza at the farm, resulting in the death of nearly 70 ostriches. That was in December 2024.

The CFIA deemed the outbreak “unprecedented” and warned of serious risks to Canada’s $6.8 billion poultry industry and $1.75 billion in exports.

Despite the farm’s claims of herd immunity and pleas for scientific testing ( including from RFK Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz), the CFIA maintained that asymptomatic birds can still spread the virus, posing a threat to animal and human health.

The farm fought the cull for nearly a year, filing multiple appeals.

On November 6, 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously dismissed the final appeal, clearing the way for the CFIA to proceed.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

It’s not just euthanasia fixation, but the spirit at work among the leaders to destroy, demoralize, and permanently tear at the fabric of the Canadian heartland as it were…or the rural west in this case. But it’s clearly the demographic they want to completely deplete and steal their voice.

[Steely Tom]

There was a story some years back, about dogsled tour operators in Yellow Knife.

They shot dozens of sled dogs because the market for such tours had taken a dive, probably because of a recession.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Will be keeping this family and farm in my prayers.

[Yardstick]

Sure hope Doug and Lemu didn’t get caught up in this.

BTW, aren’t ostriches considered sacred by one or another of Canada’s indigenous pipples? I could swear I read the Inuit rode them bareback when hunting whales.

[Bullish]

HORRID

[Jonty30]

Completely stupid to kill the birds, because their eggs could produce the vaccines. Humans can eat bird flu infected meat, just by cooking it properly.

I think this was done in service to Big Pharma to force farmers to buy vaccines from them.

[Peter ODonnell]

Not obvious from the news stories, but Edgewood BC is miles and miles from any other settlements, let alone bird farms. It is located about halfway down the west side of Arrow Lake on the Columbia River, and the small hamlet of Edgewood has about 100 permanent residents, I don’t know if any of them farm or not, but it seems that there was a low risk of transmission of avian flu to any other commercial operations, plus the ostriches tested for it had already recovered. It seemed a pointless waste to many — and the politics of it are fairly transparent, it became a proxy for the COVID-19 protests, the freedom convoy, etc, with the same general political divisions. Government-supporting types seemed quite happy the attempt to thwart the will of a government agency had been overcome without mercy. I think it sent a message (again) to Canadian dissidents of all stripes, nobody will protect you from the wrath of this government once offended. We will have to find ways to protect each other. If left-wingers had protested this, those ostriches would never have been culled.

[DesertRhino]

Where did they find the psychopaths willing to shoot them all?

[healy61]

Do birds in the wild get the bird flu? How can it be contained with birds that migrate?

[FlingWingFlyer]

Allegations are what the DemonRAT’s Weaponized Feral Dipstick Court robed jugheads use to screw over the DemonRATS’ enemies.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Canada probably thought that the birds were Jewish.

[metmom]

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the culling to curb the spread of the avian flu after an outbreak at the farm last winter killed 69 ostriches. But a spokeswoman for the farm has insisted that the rest of the flock remained healthy.

So they're immune. Let them live.

Killing healthy birds is stupid AND evil.

This is akin to the Covid hysteria and I see it all as part of the move to get us off meat and into eating bugs.

[metmom]

Do birds in the wild get the bird flu? How can it be contained with birds that migrate?

Yes. And the Canada geese are migrating now.

But IIRC, they are protected. Sounds like the Canadian govt wanted an excuse to bankrupt the guy.

FWIW, ostrich is EXCELLENT eating. It could easily pass for beef, IOW, if I served it and told you it was beef, you'd never know it wasn't, and people with alpha gal can eat it because it's not beef protein.

[Jeff Chandler]

Firing squad?