‘Horrible news’ or already ‘raised for meat’?: Fort St. John reacts to B.C. ostrich farm cull

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — An almost year-long legal battle over an ostrich cull came to an end after the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear a final appeal from the farm owners.

The decision by the court on November 6th effectively lifted a stay on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) complete depopulation and disposal order, issued last December amid an avian influenza outbreak. 

The order set in motion an overnight operation at Universal Ostrich Farms, where hundreds of ostriches were culled inside a hay bale enclosure under heavy police supervision.

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The CFIA previously said it could not allow the birds to remain because ostriches, even those appearing healthy, can still harbour the avian flu virus and potentially spread or mutate it through contact with wildlife.

In an RCMP update on November 7th, staff sergeant Kris Clark said police were on scene to maintain safety, not to take part in the cull itself.

“Once our safety concerns were addressed, CFIA contractors were allowed to proceed,” Clark said. 

“With our oversight of safety protocols, no one was injured during the dynamic portion of the CFIA operation, and no arrests were made.”

The CFIA first applied for a warrant to enter the property on September 3rd, citing months of protest activity and escalating tensions. 

Beyond the cull itself, the farm is also entangled in financial disputes. Fort St. John lawyer Steven Cope, representing creditors Rudi George and Roman Stadler, said his clients haven’t been paid the $126,399 worth of ostriches they supplied to the farm.

“If the ostriches had been spared, I could have seized and sold [them] through the court process,” Cope told Energeticcity.ca. “Now we have to wait and see if the CFIA compensates the owners and then try to intercept it.”

Cope also expressed confusion about the public outcry that has resulted from the CFIA’s cull order against the farm.

“I don’t understand why there’s such a frenzy and such vigilant behaviour from people determined to preserve these ostriches,” he said. “They were raised for meat.”

Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy condemned the court’s decision in a Facebook post and video on Thursday, November 6th, calling it “horrible news” and accusing the CFIA of government overreach.

“[The CFIA’s ostrich cull] isn’t about health anymore, it’s about control,” Kealy said. 

“No symptoms, no deaths, no proof of active infection, but the CFIA refuses to retest. Our farmers deserve policies based on science and common sense, not fear and bureaucracy.”

Kealy warned the case could have broader implications for Canadian agriculture, suggesting “outdated” disease-control policies could threaten other livestock sectors.

The farm’s owners, Dave Bilinski and Karen Espersen, sought to have the birds tested for infection rather than destroyed.

According to a report by the CBC, Bilinski and Espersen claimed the ostriches were healthy, valuable for research and part of an ongoing collaboration with a Japanese scientist studying antibodies in ostrich egg yolks.