B.C. ostrich farm facing $20,000 fine over failure to quarantine, cull birds: CFIA

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says that an ostrich farm is facing a $20,000 fine over failure to quarantine and cull its birds.

In a statement released May 30, the agency said Universal Ostrich Farm has failed to follow federal regulations, including not reporting the initial cases of illness and death at their farm, and failing to adhere to quarantine orders.

"Universal Ostrich Farm was issued two notices of violations with penalty, totaling $20,000," the statement says, though it does not say when the fines were issued.

The in-depth statement provides more details about the CFIA's inspection of the farm dating back to December 2024 and comes as U.S. officials, including health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, have weighed in on the case, urging Canadian officials not to kill the birds.

Katie Pasitney, whose parents own the farm, said in a brief interview with the The Canadian Press that she was unsure whether the fines were a new move by the CFIA but "nothing surprises me at this point."

Pasitney told CBC News that the farm will issue a response to the CFIA statement on Monday.

Many of the details in the statement, however, were already shared during a two-day court case undertaken after Universal Ostrich received an injunction staving off the order.

This includes the fact that the CFIA learned that ostriches were dying through an anonymous tip, and that the farm did not quarantine its birds during the avian flu outbreak, which killed 69 of the approximately 450 birds on the farm, allowing wild animals and people to freely mingle with infected animals.

"The farm also failed to undertake appropriate biosecurity risk mitigation measures such as limiting wild bird access to the ostriches, controlling water flow from the quarantine zone to other parts of the farm, or improving fencing. These actions significantly increase the risk of disease transmission and reflect a disregard for regulatory compliance and animal health standards," the CFIA's statement reads.

The statement also says the farm has failed to substantiate its claims that the ostriches are being used for scientific research, stating that the "CFIA has not received any evidence of scientific research being done at the infected premises."

The farm has repeatedly claimed that its birds are unique and can be used to develop antibodies to avian flu and COVID-19 but the CFIA says the farm was unable to back up those claims and that "further, the current physical facilities at their location are not suitable for controlled research activities or trials."

Universal Ostrich has filed an appeal of the earlier court ruling allowing the cull to move ahead, though that appeal has not yet been accepted.

The CFIA says the cull will move ahead, as is necessary to protect public health and Canada's economic agreements with other countries.