Neighbours of B.C. ostrich farm fighting avian flu cull say they’re living in turmoil

Neighbours of a B.C. ostrich farm that has attracted international attention say they're living in turmoil.

Those living near a B.C. ostrich farm that’s attracted international attention say they’re frustrated and feel ignored, as the farm’s owners continue to fight an avian flu cull.

Neighbours and farmers living by Universal Ostrich Farm (UOF) in Edgewood, B.C., say the last eight months have been challenging, and that there’s been little support from elected officials.

Kelley Soroka, who lives near the farm, said community members have had enough.

The farm’s cause has drawn protesters from across B.C. to the small town.

“The valley is in quite a turmoil,” she said.

Farm maintains flock is healthy

The cull was originally ordered last December at the farm, when birds tested positive for avian flu.

Sixty-nine of the ostriches died and close to 400 survived.

The farm has been fighting ever since to save the remaining birds, which they insist are safe.

“We have had no illness and no deaths on our farm for 223 days. They are thriving. Our herd of ostriches is a living vault of immunity,” Katie Pasitney, the farm’s spokesperson, told reporters last week.

Neighbours concerned

Neighbours feel differently, telling CTV News Wednesday that they worry their proximity to the farm could put their livestock at risk.

Cattle farmers Jim and Millie McFarlane, said they are located in a secondary quarantine zone.

“So, when fall comes and we ship our cattle to market, is that going to be a factor in the price that we get for our cattle?” Millie said.

Pasitney said the McFarlanes’ fears have nothing to do with UOF’s situation.

“Linking our fight to protect ostriches with cattle price fluctuations is misleading,” she added.

‘He doesn’t care’

Another issue the residents raised was feeling like they aren’t being heard by their elected officials.

On Wednesday, Scott Anderson, the Conservative MP for Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee, issued a lengthy statement about the Federal Court of Appeal’s recent decision to uphold the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s cull order.

He said while he respected the decision, he described himself as “disappointed” with the CFIA’s “stubborn refusal to allow testing, engage with senior academics in the field, or consider alternatives to mass culls.”

Anderson’s statement added that he’s heard from those who support the CFIA’s plans and others with personal animosity toward UOF’s owners. The MP said he “rejects the personal attacks not because they have or don’t have merit, but because they aren’t relevant to the cull.”

CTV News asked Anderson for an interview Wednesday.

His office initially agreed, then cancelled, stating he didn’t have time.

Randy Donselaar, who lives in Edgewood, said he feels Anderson has sided with the farm.

“He is not representing the voice of our community, the voice of the people, at the podium in Ottawa, and I think he’s either blind to that or he doesn’t care,” Donselaar said.

The farm’s ongoing court battle has garnered attention from Americans such as Dr. Mehmet Oz, a U.S. television personality, who is offering to relocate the ostriches to his Florida ranch.

Oz is calling on the Canadian government to save the ostriches.

Both Danselaar and Sorokey said they would prefer if Oz would stop weighing in on what’s happening in their community.

“It really bothers me that the Americans are involved,” said Sorokey.

Ostriches politicized

All of the locals told CTV News that what started as a movement to protest the ostrich cull has turned into political theatre.

“It’s become very political, and the birds are just a non-issue right now,” said Debra Pion, another long-term resident. “So, they’ve gone past the birds and into government overreach.”

Angela Rasmussen, a University of Saskatchewan virologist, who agrees with the CFIA’s order, said one of the reasons she believes there is an offer to import the ostriches to Oz’s farm is that it further undermines sensible public health regulation.

“There has really been a full-scale attack on American public health practices and policies, and this is an extension of that, trying to interfere in Canada’s mechanisms for instituting evidence-based responses to potential pandemic pathogens,” she said.

Farm’s response

In a statement to CTV News, Pasitney said “this battle has dragged on for months not because of any ongoing risk to public health or safety.”

“Our ostriches have been healthy the entire time. The real concern is that the CFIA continues to refuse to test the birds, even after so many months with no illness or deaths.”

As for the locals’ concerns, Pasitney added: “They should be contacting the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, also asking for better policy and outbreak response that puts the public’s mind at ease.”

The CFIA has maintained that even though the ostriches appear healthy, they could still carry and spread the virus.

“It increases the risk of reassortment or mutation of the virus, particularly with birds raised in open pasture where there is ongoing exposure to wildlife,” the CFIA said in a statement on its website, adding it is concerned about ostrich to human transmission.

“Ostriches are known to spontaneously develop mutations, making the virus more infectious to mammalian species.”

Following the Federal Appeal Court’s order on Aug. 21, the CFIA can destroy the herd at any time.