Police in British Columbia have warned that a dispute over a cull order at an ostrich farm has led to intimidation, harassment, and death threats against local businesses. The order, issued in May, targets more than 400 birds at Universal Ostrich Farms near Edgewood amid fears of an H5N1 avian flu outbreak. Sixty-nine birds have already died from a flu-like illness, but Canada's Supreme Court issued an interim stay on the cull on Wednesday while it considers whether to hear the case.
The cull has drawn protests from farm owners and supporters, including prominent allies of Donald Trump. US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr wrote to Canada's food inspection agency in May asking for the farm to be spared. Conservative commentator Chris Sanders offered his ranches in Oklahoma, Texas, and South Dakota as a new home for the birds, following lobbying by Kennedy and Mehmet Oz, a Trump-appointed director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, who offered his Florida ranch. US billionaire John Catsimatidis has also lobbied the Canadian government to reverse the order.
On Tuesday, co-owner Karen Espersen and her daughter Katie Pasitney were arrested by RCMP for obstructing food inspectors. Police erected a three-metre barrier of hay bales around the ostrich pen, now under control of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Later that evening, some bales were set on fire but quickly extinguished. Supporters have heckled police, and Pasitney appealed in a Facebook video for officers to 'stop the massacre'. She also used the farm's Facebook page to criticise local businesses providing services to the inspection agency.
The RCMP confirmed receiving complaints of threats, intimidation, and harassment. One company, Nucor Environmental Solutions, reported that false allegations led to team members and their families being inundated with threats, including death threats. The Canadian government says the cull follows a 'stamping out' policy to limit avian flu spread, in line with World Health Organization advice.
Farm owners argue that because the last bird flu death occurred on 15 January 2025, and surviving birds appear healthy, the flock has developed partial herd immunity. They also question the testing methods. However, a federal court ruling in May found that food inspectors acted within their mandate, and allowing the birds to live could spread the disease to other animals, poultry, or humans. Bioethicist Andrew Fenton of Dalhousie University noted that uncertainty over the birds' use affects health risk assessments. He warned that divisive rhetoric, akin to the anti-vaccine movement during the pandemic, threatens public confidence in health agencies.
