EDGEWOOD, BC—Animal Justice is deeply troubled by reports that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is potentially moving ahead with a plan to kill around 400 ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farms, and that drones and other activity by authorities may have already caused significant distress for the animals.
“We are deeply concerned about the fate of these ostriches, and question whether it makes sense to kill them so many months after avian flu was first detected,” said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice. “They are essentially being penalized for surviving. Ostriches are intelligent, long-lived, and sensitive animals whose lives have individual value. They should not be killed simply to prove a point about regulatory authority, particularly if the risk of disease transmission has already passed.”
“While we support science-based approaches to protecting animals and public health, the CFIA is preventing public scrutiny of what is happening and appears to be attempting to stop anyone from filming the gruesome kill operation and allowing the public to see it for themselves. This is particularly concerning given that in the past, the CFIA has killed infected birds through makeshift gas chambers and other sloppy, painful methods that resulted in prolonged suffering for birds. For the sake of the ostriches, we hope that cooler heads will prevail and independent experts will be brought in to assess the ostriches’ current health status and spare their lives while addressing any remaining disease concerns.”
Last year, Animal Justice released thousands of pages of government documents obtained through access to information requests, showing that in its previous avian flu response, the CFIA relied heavily on third-party contractors for mass euthanasia, often with minimal oversight, with millions of animals suffering under a poorly managed crisis response.
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