B.C. farmers challenge government order to cull ostrich herd over avian flu outbreak

A herd of ostriches is seen on a remote farm in Edgewood, B.C., in an undated photo supplied by Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the herd of 400 to be destroyed and disposed after an avian flu outbreak. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Katie Pasitney
A herd of ostriches is seen on a remote farm in Edgewood, B.C., in an undated photo supplied by Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered the herd of 400 to be destroyed and disposed after an avian flu outbreak. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Katie Pasitney

British Columbia ostrich farmers ordered to cull a herd of 400 due to an avian flu outbreak are holding onto hope that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will change its mind before their kill date in just over two weeks

   

The federal agency sent Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. a notice on Dec. 31 instructing their ostriches to be destroyed and disposed of by Feb. 1, but the owners are asking for more time to prove their farm should be spared. 

They’re making the case that the flightless birds – which are part of an ongoing international research project on COVID-19 antibodies – can instead be used to study the mechanics of the avian flu that infected the youngest members of their herd. 

 “The ostriches are on a strict quarantine protocol, pose no flight risk, and live in a remote area that’s not in the vicinity of commercial poultry farms, with the closest city an hour and a half away”
 
 
 

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