Union president raises safety concerns for its CFIA members tasked with B.C. ostrich cull – CBC

Avian flu means 400 ostriches are set to be culled after court ruled against farm in Edgewood, B.C.

May 26, 2025

The union representing Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) workers tasked with carrying out a cull at a B.C. ostrich farm says there are fears over the workers’ safety as emotions run high.

Over 400 birds at Universal Ostrich farm in Edgewood, B.C., face the prospect of a cull due to an avian flu detection in December.

The CFIA, which is handling Canada’s response to an ongoing avian flu outbreak, won a court case earlier this month and says the cull will go ahead due to concerns over the spread and mutation of the virus.

But a vocal contingent of supporters — including U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — has spoken out against the cull, arguing the flightless birds, many decades old, pose little threat of spreading avian flu and the herd should be preserved for scientific study.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/union-president-cfia-ostrich-cull-1.7544524