Man dies at B.C. ostrich farm protest camp

No criminality is suspected in the death of a man who was part of a group protesting a cull of ostriches at a B.C. farm.

Despite life-saving intervention from first responders, a man suddenly died at a protest camp set up outside a B.C. ostrich farm fighting a cull of its birds Monday morning, according to authorities.

The Nakusp RCMP says it was called to investigate a sudden death around 7 a.m. after members of the police liaison team discovered an unresponsive man on the ground at the Universal Ostrich Farm.

“Police-initiated CPR continued until BC Emergency Health Services arrived and took conduct of the man’s care,” a statement from the RCMP reads.

“Despite significant efforts by both police and paramedics, the man could not be resuscitated.”

The man has been identified but police are still working to notify his next of kin.

Police did not disclose the man’s cause of death, but said there is nothing to suggest it was suspicious. The BC Coroners Service is investigating.

Katie Pasitney, who acts as a spokesperson for the Edgewood farm, posted a tribute to the man on Facebook, saying he “left this world protecting life.”

“You were the kindest man we have ever met. And you will always be part of our family,” the post reads. “Watching the police try to keep you with us with the ostriches on the other side of the fence was surreal. You are a warrior just like the ostriches.”

The Supreme Court of Canada is scheduled to decide on Thursday whether it will hear the case between Universal Ostrich Farm and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which ordered a cull of the flock on Dec. 31, 2024, after an avian flu outbreak killed 69 ostriches.

In a bitter dispute that has lasted for months, the farm’s owners have been arguing that the surviving birds show no signs of the illness and should be spared, while the CFIA says ostriches that appear healthy can still spread H5N1, including new mutations of the virus.

The case has garnered international attention, including from high-profile members of the Trump administration. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has written to the CFIA asking it to stop the cull, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, offered to bring the flock to his personal ranch.

Canada’s highest court ordered a temporary stay of the cull in September while it decides whether to hear the case, and the CFIA has had custody of the birds in the meantime.

If the court decides not to hear the case and lifts a stay on the cull, there would be no legal impediment to the killing of hundreds of birds. If leave to appeal is granted, a final decision on the fate of the flock would come after a hearing.

Pasitney has called for supporters to gather at the farm when the decision is handed down.

Opponents of the cull have been present at the site for months, and three have been arrested recently for allegedly interfering with the CFIA.

With files from The Canadian Press

RELATED STORIES:

• Supreme Court to decide on Nov. 6 whether to hear case of B.C. ostriches
• Man arrested for ‘alleged incursion’ at B.C. ostrich farm, RCMP say
• CFIA confirms death of ostrich with ‘pre-existing condition’ at B.C. farm