Small Kelowna rally pleads for government intervention in looming BC ostrich farm cull

A last-minute rally saw a small but passionate group of locals gather outside of Kelowna MP Stephen Fuhr’s office on Friday, calling on the government to stop the planned cull of hundreds of ostriches at a BC farm in the Kootenays.

“It's kind of (what) I was expecting, because I literally did throw this together when I was in my pyjamas at seven o'clock yesterday morning,” said Blake Roberts, Friday’s rally organizer, on the size of the gathering that saw about 15-20 people.

After a few people waved some signs that read ‘save the ostriches.com,’ Roberts shared a brief message he had for Prime Minister Mark Carney with the group, pleading for government intervention.

The animals in question are located at Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood, BC, a community south of Nakusp and along the Upper Arrow Lake.

Roberts has made three trips out to the farm since this whole ordeal began late last year.

“I looked at those things. You walk up to the fence, and they see you, and they come over, and they're engaging and they're helpless, and it's wrong,” he explained.

“I've read so much, as I said in what I read there (to the group), there is every reason in the world to put a pause on this. It just does not make (sense). If these birds truly were dangerous, I'd be the first one to say: ‘Hey, it sucks killing animals, but we got to do it.’”

In December 2024, ostriches at the farm began experiencing “flu-like symptoms,” and 25 to 30 ostriches died over a three-week period, according to court documents. The farm did not report the deaths to a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)-designated veterinary inspector.

Following an anonymous tip to the CFIA sick bird call line, the agency intervened on Dec. 28 and imposed quarantine measures at the farm.

On Dec. 31, 2024, the samples collected from two carcasses the previous day came back positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and were later confirmed on Jan. 3, 2025, as the H5N1 strain of HPAI, triggering a stamping-out policy.

The CFIA then issued a notice to dispose, requiring the farm to dispose of all of its ostriches by Feb. 1, 2025.

The farm proceeded to apply for some of its ostriches to be exempted from destruction, but that application was denied by the CFIA’s exemption committee.

According to the farm, the spread of the illness plateaued in mid-January, with the last of 69 confirmed ostrich deaths occurring on Jan. 15, 2025.

In May, the farm’s request for a judicial review of the notice to dispose and the exemption denial was dismissed by the Federal Court.

The case then made its way to the Federal Court of Appeal. On July 15, 2025, the Federal Court of Appeal heard the case between Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. and the CFIA.

On Aug. 21, the Federal Court of Appeal released its decision, stating that it dismissed the farm’s appeal and a motion for fresh evidence to be brought before the court.

“In so concluding, we recognize that our decision might lead to the death of over 400 ostriches owned by the appellant, an outcome that would doubtless be very difficult, both financially and emotionally, for the appellant’s principals,” stated a part of the court’s Aug. 21 decision.

"While we have considerable sympathy for them, the law we are bound to apply inevitably leads to the conclusion that this appeal must be dismissed."

The decision added that it is not the role of the court to set, vary, or grant exemptions from the government policy.

“Rather, our sole role is to determine whether the decisions at issue in this appeal were reasonable in accordance with the deferential standard of review set out in the case law of the Supreme Court of Canada, this court, and other Canadian courts,” explained the decision.

“Because the stamping-out policy, which underlies the two decisions, the notice to dispose, and the exemption denial, are all reasonable in accordance with that case law, we have unanimously concluded that this appeal cannot succeed.”

When asked by KelownaNow what the next steps were for the CFIA, the agency shared a link to a statement from Aug. 21 on the court’s most recent ruling.

“The CFIA takes the responsibility to protect the health of animals and Canadians extremely seriously as we conduct these necessary disease control measures to protect public health and minimize the economic impact on Canada's poultry industry,” stated the CFIA.

“The CFIA does not generally release details about the operations of individual farms to help protect the privacy of producers. Accordingly, specific operational plans and dates will not be shared with the public in advance.”

Meanwhile, Roberts and other local supporters are anxious, awaiting what the next steps in the whole ordeal could be.

“The clock's ticking on those things (the ostriches),” said Roberts.

“For all we know, the RCMP is pulling up to the farm right now, so it might be, might be too late.”