Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm – One of the owners of Universal Ostrich near Edgewood, B.C. condemned the alleged assault and arson against one of the farm’s neighbours said to have been committed by a protestor.
RCMP said the incident occurred on Sept. 22 and the alleged perpetrator was arrested without incident. He was later released with the promise not to return to the area.
Media reports said the neighbour, a woman in her early 70s, spotted a person dressed in black, wearing a balaclava while pouring gasoline on her home. She confronted the person, who allegedly splashed gasoline on her and a scuffle ensued. Since then, Katie Pasitney of Universal Ostrich took to social media to condemn the accused’s actions, stating the protest against the cull of their remaining ostriches is peaceful and non-violent.
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“We do not condone violence of any kind so please, if you are one of those people, you are not part of this,” Pasitney said.
In December 2024, some of the farm’s ostriches contracted avian influenza. Shortly after, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the remaining birds to be culled. Since then protests and court actions followed in an effort to halt the cull.
Presently, the matter has gone to the Supreme Court of Canada. The court already granted a stay of the cull until they chose to hear Universal Farm’s case or not.
As for the CFIA, they issued a statement on Oct. 1, saying two of the ostriches were being treated for the condition of their feet. Also, the farm is under CGIA control, and the agency is following their stamp out policy pertaining to bird flu.
There were 10 current outbreaks of avian influenza in Canadian poultry as of Oct. 1, according to CFIA data. No cases have been found in Canadian cattle.
In the United States, the latest discoveries of bird flu have hit turkeys at commercial farms in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Utah. Also, a whooping crane in Wisconsin that was due to be released into the wild died of bird flu. There are about 700 wild whopping cranes left in the U.S.
Over the course of September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said there are 19 commercial bird flocks and eight backyard flocks in which bird flu has been diagnosed. That placed the number of affected birds at 3.83 million.
